A WORD TO THE WISE: Proverbs 26: 24-26 (Loving with Your Eyes Open)

Proverbs 26: 24 He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself;

25 When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart;

26 Though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.

Proverbs 6: ¹⁶ These six things the Lord hates. Yes, seven are an abomination toHim:

¹⁷ A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, ¹⁹ A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

Proverbs 26: 24-26. For our haters, we are to pray for redemption & reconciliation. In Matthew 18: 15-17, Jesus made it clear that victory in a confrontation with someone who’d wronged you is achieved when when you have “gained your brother.” That means that the wrong has been corrected and the relationship has been restored. Consider the example of Jesus converting Saul the persecutor to Paul the apostle (Acts 9).

Unfortunately, not all enemies will become your friend. People can and (some of them) will simply choose to continue hating your guts and pursuing your destruction. Think about King Saul trying to kill David (1 Samuel 18, 19, 24).

So, how do you know if your enemy has become a friend you can now trust or if the enemy has become a fake friend who’s just waiting for a better throwing angle so he/she can pin you to the wall with a spear?

You have to love with your eyes open. You have to see without looking.

If you look for evidence that the conversion wasn’t genuine you’ll find evidence even if none really exists. Many a great relationship has been screwed up become somebody was lookingfor something to go wrong.

“Loving with your eyes open” means you see what’s actually there--- good and bad--- even when what you see isn’t what you’d expected or wanted. “Loving with your eyes open” means acknowledging behavior patterns in your relationship, especially patterns that you would have noticed in someone else’s relationship.

Real repentance happens. Genuine redemption happens. It is the beautiful truth of God’s grace that people really can (and sometimes do) change.

But, if the change isn’t real and if you love with your eyes open, you’ll see 7 abominations as listed in Proverbs 6: 16-19:

1) A proud look. You’lll see arrogance instead of repentance. The “Really? How dare you question me? Don’t you know how lucky you are to have me around?” response.

2) A lying tongue. “That wasn’t me” when you were looking at them, or an appeal to technicalities: “Did you see me take your car or are you assuming that since your car was gone, and after I walked in with your keys you saw it was back in the yard?”

3) Hands that shed innocent blood. If they mistreat other people simply because they can, then it’s likely that they’ll treat you as badly as they feel they can get away with.

Yeah, quit lying to yourself that the way they did so-and-so has nothing to do with you.

4) A heart that devises wicked plans. When they come to your aid it’s with a deceptive, drama-creating, destroy-everybody-and-burn-their-village plan.

5) Feet that are swift to run to evil. They don’t have time for/ are too tired for/ don’t see the need for: church, school, studying, talking, (a job), or whatever are the positive things in your life; but they’re down to ride on some fool or kick up some drama no matter what time of day or night.

6) False witness that speaks lies. If they lie about other people, if all the people who’d been honest and dependable in your life while this person was your enemy become liars and haters who don’t care anything about you once this person becomes “your friend”---- that’s a red flag trimmed in neon with the words GET! OOOUUUUT!

7) One who sows discord among brethren. Once you let this new person into your circle, your other friends start fighting among themselves and drama appears where it had never been before.

These are 7 signs that your new “friend”---- ain’t.

Seek repentance. Pray for reconciliation. Give people a chance to change.

But, don’t be stupid.

Love with your eyes open.

Or you’ll suffer in darkness.

----- Anderson T. Graves II

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church

Call/ fax: 334-288-0577
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Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Rd.,
Montgomery, AL 36116