Someone at church asked me, “Did my mother teach me that Christians aren’t supposed to hate things, or is that in the Bible?”
“It’s not in the Bible,” I said.
I could tell this person hated that answer.
Christians are super squeamish about hate because we haven’t been taught how to use it. We know all about love. That’s in every sermon, lesson, song, study guide, T-shirt, and bumper sticker. The only thing we know about hate is that we’re never, ever, ever, ever supposed to do it. Again, that’s not in the Bible.
The Bible tells us to be imitators of God. We’re happy to imitate God’s loving side but we’re not keen to imitate God’s hateful side.
“John, you jerk!! God is love! He doesn’t hate anyone and neither should you!!”
There are some verses in the Bible that aren’t printed on your “Daily Encouragement Calendar” and if you read some of them, you’ll learn that God doesn’t beat around the bush about what, and more importantly WHO, He hates.
(Psalm 11:5) The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
(Proverbs 6:16) There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Without the hatred of God, the gospel makes no sense. There is no reason to punish sinners if they’re loved just as much as saints. When we disagree with God about what we should hate, morality collapses and compassion loses all meaning.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that person A stabs person B in the heart. Taking ‘hate’ off the table as an option forces us to respond with a distorted version of ‘love’ that treats both the criminal and the victim as equal.
“Hate the sin but love the sinner,” is not found in the Bible. God doesn’t separate sin from those who commit it. Wickedness is not floating around detached from people.
The reason we don’t like talking about hate is it exposes our arrogance. We don’t think God judges correctly. When push comes to shove, we agree with the pagans who told us that a loving God wouldn’t reject anyone. Our version of love forces God to submit to those who hate Him. We believe God should replace His perfect grace without our finite idea of justice.
And God absolutely hates that.
(Psalm 97:10) O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
One Response
The Lord hates a lying tongue, a heart that devises wicked plans, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
This is your Christian President Trump exactly.