If anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride, arrogance, corruption, and deceit of every kind.
Proverbs 8:13 (TLB)
What kind of people come to your mind when you think of evil? We know that Satan is evil, but what about others? Does Hitler, Mussolini, or Stalin come to mind? Some have been described as “pure evil.” That is an oxymoron because there is nothing pure about evil.
The Four Evils
Our text says if “anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil.” What does wisdom hate? Is it not “pride, arrogance, corruption and deceit of every kind?” From these four evils comes all sort of crime.
The first sin of Satan was pride. He said, “I am a God, I sit in the seat of God,” Ezekiel 28:2. Isaiah 14:12-14 says, “How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most-High.”
The Cunning Works Of Satan
One can easily see how that the pride of Satan led to arrogance which led to corruption which led to deceit. Because of his beauty he became full of pride which led him to believe that he was just like God which led to his corruption and the corruption of all that he touched which led to deceit for he is a liar and the father of lies. And that will lead to his final imprisonment in the “lake of fire.”
Our text says that “anyone who respects and fears God will hate evil.” That should be the norm for every believer, therefore, I suppose we need to be careful about the things and the people what we applaud. What do you think?
