The Bible reminds us that if we are walking in the ways of the world, we are not walking in the ways of God. We can’t do both at the same time. We can’t walk in sin and walk with God simultaneously. First John says that if we say we know God but don’t do what he commands then we are a liar and the truth is not in us. Walking in sin amounts to embracing evil, and Proverbs teaches us that we are not to embrace evil, but we are to go so far as to hate evil. It says in chapter 8 verse 13:
“To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”
That short verse pretty much covers all forms of sin. Everything from pride to evil behavior should be avoided. Even perverse speech is considered evil. Every believer should have a healthy fear of the Lord. I don’t believe we are supposed to be afraid of him, but we are to reverently fear him. Think about your dad. If you were raised by a good and loving father, there were probably rules set in place that you wouldn’t disobey for fear of angering or disappointing him. Likewise, with God we are to fear disobeying him in a similar fashion. The Bible tells us not to fear man who can only destroy the body, but to fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell, and that is God. Proverbs reminds us that to fear the Lord is to hate evil. Because when we flirt with evil, or worse yet, if we embrace evil, we are disobedient to God.
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“To fear the Lord is to hate evil”. In Matthew, Jesus tells us that if our eye causes us to sin then we are to gouge it out. If our hand causes us to sin, then we are to cut it off, because it is better to lose an eye or a hand and enter heaven maimed than to go to hell where the fire never goes out. Likewise, we should do everything we can to get rid of any sin, or sinful vices, in our lives for fear of the Lord. I implore you to take these verses to heart. If we are to emulate God, then we should love what he loves and hate what he hates. And God hates evil.