Have you ever heard of an “abomination”? This word is used to describe something very, very bad. It's more than just bad—it's simply disgusting. So, the word “abomination” is saved for things that are worse than bad.

What kinds of things are an “abomination” to God? The Bible gives a list of seven things:

“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16–19).

That's a big Bible passage, isn't it? Let's try to understand it:

1. A proud look. Have you ever seen a person who always seems to think they are better than everyone else? Maybe you have met such a person. They are not fun to be around. God gives a warning: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). The one who shows off usually ends up falling down.

2. A lying tongue. Nobody likes to be lied to and nobody likes a liar. Lying is a very bad habit we should not have.

3. Hands that shed innocent blood. This is talking about people that kill others who have not done anything wrong. The people they kill are innocent, so they are hurting God a lot.

4. A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations. Have you ever met anyone who comes up with naughty ideas that should not be done? It's not good to stay around someone like that because we will surely end up learning bad things from them.

5. Feet that be swift in running to mischief. Some children always seem to be getting in trouble. It's as if their feet are quick to find something bad to do. This is not a good way to be.

6. A false witness that speaketh lies. This kind of person is like a tattletale who makes up stories of things they say that they saw or heard, but it is not really true.

7. He that soweth discord among brethren. A lot of times when people don't like each other or are arguing it is because a third person said something bad about one of them to the other person. This is called gossip. If people don't like each other because of something mean we said to one of them about the other, then we need to change our ways.

God hates all these things. But He more than hates them; they are an abomination to Him. People everywhere are doing these kinds of things, but remember, with the help of Jesus, in His strength, we can decide not to do them!—BHM.