Proverbs 12:22

Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight."

Like so many of Solomon's proverbs, this proverb consists of a clear contrast between good and evil.  The language of this contrast is intense, which is of course intentional so as to get the reader's attention.  On one side of the proverb, an abomination to God is stated.  On the other side of the proverb, a particular delight of God is stated.  These two scenarios provoke extreme emotions from our Maker.  The preferences of God are not the subject matter of this proverb; the extreme emotions are the subject matter of this proverb.  On one side of the proverb, we learn what God absolutely HATES.  On the other side of the proverb, we see what God absolutely LOVES.

When it comes to the matter of truth, God has strong feelings.  He absolutely HATES lying.  It is after all, one of the ten pillars of Judaism.  Lying is part of two of the seven specific sins that God "HATES" in Proverbs 6:16-19.  According to Revelations 21:8, "all LIARS shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."  When eternal torment consisting of fire and brimstone is the consequence of a particular sin, strong feelings on the part of the offended are present.  Lying lips, wrote Solomon, are an "ABOMINATION" to God.  He can't stand them.  He loathes them.  Lying lips on a person makes everything on that person ugly to God.  Lying lips on a soul makes everything in that soul putrid.  When a man speaks a lie, God breathes heavy and squints His eyes in holy disgust.  When a woman speaks a lie, God is intensely disgusted.  For God, lying lips are intolerable and infuriating.  He can't stand them!

When it comes to the matter of truth, God has strong feelings.  He absolutely LOVES truth-telling.  Every time someone speaks the truth, it puts a smile on His face.  Every time someone speaks the truth when it's hard to do so, God is thrilled.  Every time a man tells his wife the truth, despite fearing the response, God just loves it.  Every time a woman tells her husband the truth, despite the uncertainty connected to her insecurity, God is so happy.  Truth-telling is something God loves to listen to.  He looks forward to it.  He gets excited about it.  When He hears it in our world, His eyes get big and the corners of His mouth go up.  It delights Him the same way a cloud of bright blue cotton candy on a paper cone delights a four-year old.

When it comes to the matter of truth in this proverb, God's strong feelings are seen best in what can be seen as the minor details of the proverb.  While God HATES lying lips, the proverb doesn't state that He LOVES honest lips.  While lying lips are an ABOMINATION to God, the proverb doesn't state that truthful lips are His DELIGHT.  Our Maker's strong feelings about speaking truth isn't the only thing being contrasted here.  If you look close enough, you'll see that God HATES the SMALLEST evidence of dishonesty but LOVES the LARGEST evidence of honesty.  God has feelings about everything we do and say but He has His strongest feelings about a LITTLE SIN and A LOT of VIRTUE.  Just the sound of a single little lie is an abomination to Him, which means He has strong feelings about the littlest of evils.  On the contrary, to bring God His greatest delight, one has to do more than speak a little truth.  To stir strong feelings of delight in our Maker, a person must DEAL TRULY, meaning he must think honestly, plan honestly, speak honestly and respond honestly.

When it comes to a Holy God, the truth of the matter is that it only takes a little dishonesty to disgust God but it takes a lot of honesty to delight Him.  A person with dishonest motives can still speak truth and while that truth-telling is acceptable to God, He isn't delighted because dishonesty still resides in that person's heart.  God can see what no one else sees.  God can sense what no one else senses.  Honesty is only a delight to God if He sees it in the heart, in the mind, in our lips and on our hands.  Because this is hard for self-centered, self-serving humans to do, it is God's TRUE JOY to see a person please God by DEALING TRULY with others.
 
This proverb is one of many Scriptural reminders that God isn't impressed with a little righteousness nor is He only upset with a big sin.  It takes very little evil to provoke strong feelings from a Holy Maker and it takes deeply consistent and thorough virtue to stir strong feelings in the same heart.  He doesn't look at man the way we do.  We think as long as we avoid the big sins, God isn't that concerned.  We also think that as long as we do the big things right, God is ecstatic.  Neither are true.  He takes righteousness very seriously and as a result, He has very strong feelings towards it.  If you want to DISGUST God, just tell a little white lie but if you want to DELIGHT God, deal truly with all of your thoughts, motives, desires, words and decisions.