Somebody asked a sensible question the other day that deserves a proper answer. I am often entangled in discussions about how God hates so we should hate too.
I stubbornly insist on “no.” Even if God hates, that does not mean it is okay for us to hate too. We are not God. There are different rules for parents then there are for children. Imagine a four year old seeing a grown up driving a car, deciding driving a car is good, so not only can I as a four year old drive, I am now actually commanded to do so.
Rubbish.
The question was, “is it okay to hate wickedness.” That depends on what is meant by “okay.” Is it normal to be angry, scared, full of hate, when you see bad things in the world? Yes. Are those powerful emotions felt by people all through the ages? Yes. Is hatred sometimes a rational response to injustice, evil, wrong doing? Yes.
But it is still a sin to stay there. Stagnent water. Hatred, anger, fear, all have an expiration date. They are like manna from heaven, they spoil if you collect more than you need, if you try to store them up for another day.
The bible is full of intensely passionate people, expressing a wide range of emotions, including hatred. The bible is also full of a great many sinners, so just because it is “in the bible” does not make something “good.” I believe these passionate moments of intense hatred are preserved for us so that we would know we are not alone in our feelings, that God knows us so very well, and that even great men can have moments of being swallowed up and consumed by darkness and emotion.
God does not command us to hate, in fact, we’re supposed to, “love our enemies, to bless those who curse you.” Not saying that’s easy, but that call just flies in the face of an alleged commandment to hate.
So my answer to, “is it okay to hate wickedness,” is no. There are many good reasons for that. Hatred in the human mindset is almost always rooted in fear and a sense of powerlessness, weakness. God did not give us a spirit of fear. We are also under the full authority and protection of Jesus Christ Himself. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33
In John 14:12 we have, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” So not only are we under the full authority of Jesus Christ, we have been granted His authority here on earth. His authority overcame the world.
Everyone knows John 3:16, but John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
To hate wickedness is to be fearful of it. It is to expose our distrust, our disbelief in the fact that He has overcome the world, and is now seated in victory at the right hand of the Father. We are called to be assured of that, to rest in His peace, and to be unafraid. If instead we are busy hating on wickedness all the time, we are not fully empowered, not emotionally equipped, and we have given way to fear.
See, there's this thing called biology... 
“Be angry, but don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” If we calmly accept wickedness, we are not being godly. We are blessed when we “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” But when God is angered at sin and wickedness, he responds. So we also are designed to respond to danger with “fight or flight” impulses. When we use that energy to combat wickedness and rescue victims, we are imitating Christ. But ingrained hatred, nursing a grudge, staying angry… that is not God’s way. J.
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“So we also are designed to respond to danger with “fight or flight” impulses.”
I hear you Salvageable. It is just that “danger” is fear and “flight or fight” is our fear trigger. So when we respond to evil that way, we tend to either attack or to flee. In theory anyway, we’re supposed to be bold and fearless, walking right into the middle of it. Jesus was out laying hands on lepers,for example. He did not hate and fear demonically possessed people, or horrible diseases, or anything else life dishes out.
I guess it depends on what we mean by “calmly accept” it, too. There is the passive,tolerant response,and then there is the calm that comes from knowing it is overcome,it poses no threat, we already a have victory against it,and so we can calmly heal it and conquer it.
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I truly appreciate what you are communicating here, that perfect love drives out fear and that love is always better than hate. But I remain unconvinced that we are forbidden to hate wickedness as God hates wickedness. Your analogy of the four-year-old who should not imitate adults and drive a car breaks down when you say Jesus “did not hate and fear demonically possessed people, or horrible diseases, or anything else life dishes out.” After all, Jesus is the Son of God and has power to overcome these things. He has not given me that power. If I happen to hate cancer, for example, or suicidal depression, I need to seek treatment rather than remaining calm in their presence. J.
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“Jesus is the Son of God and has power to overcome these things. He has not given me that power.”
Hmm, now that’s an interesting idea that we should probably explore some more, because I think He really did hand us that power. We are called to be over comers, to be seated with Him in victory. Even death now has no sting. So by all means seek treatment for the things that ail us, but we need to at least believe that He will get us through it,to be filled with His peace that surpasses all understanding, to be walking in “all will be well with my soul.”
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I did not go searching for this verse: it happens to be in my daily Bible reading this afternoon: “O you who love the Lord, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10). J.
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“Hatred is a poison that destroys us from within, producing bitterness that eats away at our hearts and minds. This is why the Scriptures tell us not to let a “root of bitterness” spring up in our hearts, ” which is a reference to Hebrews 12:15.
I think we need to be exceedingly careful with hatred because like it or not, it is seldom going to pure and Holy as the Lord’s hatred may be. We ourselves are nearly always going to be wrapped in bitterness and unforgiveness.
I’m not telling anyone what to do, I’ve just seen hatred make so many people sick and Jesus Himself commands us to love, even to love those who hate us.
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I certainly hate wickedness. I hate what wickedness does to people, how it harms ourselves and others. Hating wickedness is not the problem; the problem is that we tend to hate the wickedness of others more than our own. That is self-justification, declaring our own self-righteousness.
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Well, I think it’s different to dislike something,to grieve over the suffering of others, than it is to hate. “Hate” is an intense emotional response rooted in fear and powerlessness. We shouldn’t even be hating on our own sin for long because there is a solution,there is redemption and repentance available.
I guess I see a whole lot of people just puring their hatred over sin and never really doing anything about it,as if simply hating on evil, hating on the destruction,and hating on ourselves is some kind of solution.
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‘ “Hate” is an intense emotional response rooted in fear and powerlessness.’
I find it rather difficult to reconcile that statement with the fact that the Bible says that God hates sin in any of its manifestations. I hardly think that God is afraid of anything or that He is powerless. How do you justify your claim?
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“How do you justify your claim?”
God is God. We are not.
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So you have multiple definitions of hate that you apply according to your own whims. It’s not the first time you have created your own definitions.
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I disagree about whims and creating my own definitions. Most of my understanding comes from the work of others who have diligently translated these words and addressed them in a cultural context based on biblical times. Then I’ve got about half a century of human wisdom and experience of my own going on here.
As to whims and definitions, I truly believe we are to allow the Holy Spirit to read scripture to us, explain it to us, and help us to apply it to our own life. As I’ve stated above something like Luke 14:26 must be read in context and with wisdom and a desire to understand what is being communicated. I find it just appalling that anybody could read those verses and believe that it is a commandment and they are now justified in their hatred of their families. That is astoundingly stupid.
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Of course you disagree about whims and creating your own definitions. Denial is the easiest way to avoid facing the truth.
As I believe I am a few years older than you, I consider your “half a century” justification to be amusing.
Per your usual behavior, you deflect from my arguments that hate is, in some instances, a godly behavior. The fact that some might argue that Christians should hate their family does not force me into the same group.
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“Per your usual behavior, you deflect from my arguments that hate is, in some instances, a godly behavior. ”
Yes. I wrote an entire post about it. I’m actually not deflecting your argument at all, I’m flat out telling you it’s wrong.
Per you usual behavior, you project your own insecurities, and than attempt to lord yourself over me.
Sorry, but denial and avoidance of the truth are not actually my issues. With your vastly superior wisdom due to your advanced age, you should be able to discern precisely what my issues are. I’ll leave you to it.
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“…, I’m flat out telling you it’s wrong.”
It seems that the vast majority of the commenters on this post disagree with your position on hate. I’ll leave you to discern the reasons.
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Excellent and insightful post
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Again Memi, God, over on His blog, puts it all together, even better than we can!
It’s OK to hate what is evil, and cling to what is good, God even tells us how to do that, and what it looks like.
When we are gracious to our enemies, in the right way, we even get the gratification of bugging them in the right way. ; – )
(The hot coals on the head thing!)
Evil its self has lost and is going to Hell. Evil people (Except for blasphemers) can still be redeemed.
Hence we should always be open to God “flipping” evil people. The Apostle Paul is perhaps the best example of that!
Romans 12
9 Love must be sincere. HATE WHAT IS EVIL; CLING TO WHAT IS GOOD. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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Lovely words, Adad! But how is it that we can read all of Romans chapter 12 and somehow only manage to retain two words,” hate evil?” It’s like we’re completely blind to the other 20 verses qualifying that, defining it, explaining it.
Paul’s words actually reflect what Jesus says in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
I remain completely baffled as to how people can hear that, read it, and conclude yep, see, it’s Godly for me to hate.
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Because “Hate evil” is the “too short” version.
The actual words: “Hate WHAT is evil” is just long enough, because it does not say to hate WHO is evil.
If we did the latter, there would be way too much self loathing, because we would have to hate ourselves!
And you just wrote a really good post on the multiple problems with self loathing!
; – )
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The Bible tells us to hate wickedness…so I believes it’s truth over your blog post. We are to be gracious to our enemies, when Elisha opened the armies eyes, he commanded they be fed and returned to their native land. This was the righteous response. But yes, we are to hate wickedness….just as our Father does. Why in the world would anyone be called to love evil? I’d love to see the scripture in the Bible that says for us to love evil.
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Well, love is actually not the opposite of hatred. The opposite of love is actually indifference. So when I say it is not okay to hate wickedness, the alternative is not automatically a call to love it. There are a whole range of other responses outside the context of the extremes of love and hatred.
As I’ve said above, Paul surrounded his hate evil with 20 other verses qualifying and defining it, and commanding us to love. How is it that people just take those two words away “hate evil” and completely ignore the other 20 versus about love?
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Because it’s all truth. I HATE wickedness. Yet I also love those entwined within its grasp. I pray that they come to know that the Lord Jesus died for them to attain justification. That they can be born again, to live a life I dwelt by the Spirit of God rather than be tormented by the devil all their life and then into the hereafter. Love people, and hate that which afflicts them. I hate the sexual immorality that leads to child trafficking for example. I HATE IT. IF I COULD RID THE WORLD INSTANTLY OF IT I WOULD. I hate the effects it has on children, on families, on the world in general. Do I affirm that Jesus Christ’s blood is great enough to cleanse even a child rapist who profits from their suffering. YES! JESUS CAN SAVE THEM TOO! Is a man who is indwelt by the Spirit of God in authentic salvation going to be able to continue doing this evil without hating it himself ? No. He will hate even the wickedness he once did. All of us who repent hate our own wickedness most I do believe.
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I don’t see this as a big doctrinal issue. I just don’t think anyone should necessarily feel guilty when they suffer a bit of righteous anger or even hatred. Hate is a God-given emotional response. Love is also a God-given emotional response. We can also will to hate or love. I think the problem with hatred comes when we make an effort to hate — choose to hate — and seek revenge. Vengeance is in God’s portfolio, not ours.
Evil hurts both us and the people we care about. Because we love we will hate what hurts us and the people we care about. Sometimes we may even find it necessary to get angry and fight the evil that others do, but once the fighting is over we have to set the anger and hatred aside.
Consider WWII. The Nazis and the Communists started the war. They put people in concentration camps and slaughtered and worked to death millions. Why wouldn’t we despise the nightmarish ideologies that drove the fanatics? Nevertheless, we are not to dwell there. God is the final judge. We have other things to do.
The real accomplishment occurred after the war. Then the Allies won the peace.
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“Sometimes we may even find it necessary to get angry and fight the evil that others do….”
Your comment brought something to mind Tom, is getting angry and hating an effective way to fight something?
LOL, I don’t have enough experience in hand to hand combat to really say, but I do know that getting angry and hating often makes me act irrationally,not fight smart, not think things through,and become totally ineffective. It is actually a fear based and weak response, so rather than assuring victory, it is almost always a guarantee of defeat. I suppose if I were big and heavily armed it would be a different matter. 🙂
However, Ephesians 6:12,”For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
So I suggest that getting angry and hating on evil, beyond a rather normal and fleeting emotional response, actually weakens us, causes us to act irrationally,and to not fight smart.
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Anger and hatred provide motivation for overcoming fear. Fear is also God-given.
Fear is part of our physiology. We respond to it by running or fighting. Fear does not make us weak; it drives us to marshal our resources.
Is hatred related to fear? Yes, but we don’t have to be afraid of something to hate it. Generally, however, we hate what we fear. What hatred does is drive us to destroy what we fear. Here is an example. I grew up for the most part on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We have water moccasins in the area, a type of aggressive poisonous snake. Since I mowed lawns and did some yard care, I would occasionally run into the darn things. I was scared of them. So I hated them and I killed them, and I make no apologies for it. If they were in same place I was, they did not belong there. They were a threat to me and anyone else in the area.
Are there problems with anger, hatred, and fear. Yes. Strong emotions of ANY KIND can roil our minds, make it difficult to think and act appropriately. So we have to master our emotions, and that’s not easy. To the extent we are unable to master our fear by behaving courageously, fear makes us weak.
Soldiers use duty, honor, and love of country to master their fears. And yes, they use hatred too. One reason soldiers must train together is so that they can become friends. When people shoot at our buddies, it is easier to shoot back.
Getting a soldier to kill people and break their things is actually a problem. It takes effort to overcome the social conditioning that keeps us from hurting each other. Even after an enemy attacks our country and kills our people, when we can see the “target” — when we realize that it is another human being — we don’t want to kill. What it take to get us to pull the trigger is the knowledge that that “target” will try to kill our buddies if we don’t kill him first.
The devil is an Angle of Light. He can be quite attractive, seem more human than you or I. Unless, we learn to despise the evil he represents — the danger he presents to our loved ones — we will not weld the Sword of the Word and drive him away.
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Hmmmm, very interesting Tom. I’ll have to ponder that some more.
I think there is a difference here however, Ephesians 6:12. We’re not actually fighting a flesh and blood enemy, so to respond like a soldier and kill the enemy is not an option. You can’t kill something like wickedness. You can however, kill the patient who is afflicted with it. You can also darn near kill yourself by hating and fearing the affliction.
I like what you said about honor, duty, love of country. Those things seem like far more powerful motivators than hatred and fear. One might even call those motivators “love,” which is kind of what was on my mind with this post. Love is powerful, courageous, strong, far more effective than hatred and fear.
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What make hatred vile is when is stems from pride. To hate something that make us afraid for those we love is not so bad. The problem is when we seek vengeance, which stems from pride.
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Kind of interesting Tom, your comment almost matches the one that began this discussion. The way you speak of how, “To hate something that make us afraid for those we love is not so bad.”
I’m inclined to agree with you, but in a more rhetorical way CS Lewis really poked some holes in that idea in the Screwtape Letters. He says in part, “In other words let him consider himself sufficiently identified with the women and children to feel hatred on their behalf, but not sufficiently identified to regard their enemies as his own and therefore proper objects of forgiveness.”
http://www.youngbooksonline.com/read/the-screwtape-letters-371/34679
I’m not a purist here, but I do like to examine how we can sometimes cloak sin in virtue. So hatred can easily become not sin since we’re now telling ourselves we’re just doing it sacrificially on behalf of someone else? Pretty profound what CS Lewis is actually saying in his satire.
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It has been awhile since I read the Screwtape Letters, but when we hate people, as opposed to sin, we are judging them. If we are not careful, we can put ourselves in the place of God and make a judgement we have no business making. Matthew 7:6 allows us to make severe judgements, but only in such a case where we have no other practical alternative.
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Anyway, I will have to review the Screwtape Letters so I can make certain I understand where you are coming from.
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Since God hates wickedness and could not even look at His own Son on the cross when Jesus took the weight of our sins on Himself, I have to disagree to some extent. God hates wickedness and we should too. “And the LORD said to him, ‘Go through the midst of the city and put a mark on on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel 9:4. Those are the ones who were saved. However, I also agree with your words, “Stagnent water. Hatred, anger, fear, all have an expiration date.” Brilliant..
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I still remain unconvinced with the way we word that, kind of as if a wrathful God is busy hating on Jesus on the cross? I think Christ did feel the weight of separation from God, and He felt our hatred too, just the hatred was not coming from God. We have a way sometimes of portraying Jesus as a sacrifice to an angry, hate filled God, that I think is not quite accurate.
I also believe He was quoting Psalm 22 when He said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That psalm is incredibly prophetic, it really describes the emotions going on too.
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I get where you are coming from. However, let me ask you this question. How do you suppose that you will be rid of the iniquities that so easily beset you if you never learn to hate those things that you know displease the Lord. I hate the way my mouth tends to bypass my brain because I know what comes out is not always Godly. Therefore, because of this hatred for acting Un-Godly, I seek the Lord and not myself. He is the one who is empowering me to keep my mouth shut…not my own will power. Hatred focused correctly is a good thing and should not be despised.
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“I hate the way my mouth tends to bypass my brain…..”
Ha! Yes, me too. The problem being, I can hate it or I can turn it over to the Father’s love and allow Him to change it. The problem arises when we get stuck in simply hating on sin and never think to do anything about it. I just cannot multi task like that. We’re either walking in sin or we’re busy walking in hating on sin. They’re both about walking in sin. It’s so much better if we can just set down the sin, and the hate and walk in redemption.
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God hated Esau but loved Jacob – before either was born and had a chance to do good or evil.
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Yes, but as I said above, just because God hates something, does not necessarily mean we are called to hate too. God saw the heart of each,their past, present, and future, their descendants too, and God is sovereign, God can do as He wishes and He is wise about it. Us mere humans are seldom wise.
So for us to take five words out of their biblical context and come away with “God hated Esau,so I can hate too,” seems like a bit of a tragedy, a waste of a much greater lesson.
I guess I would ask where is the pay off in our hatred, why is it so important to us? What do we think we gain from it? Why does that word “hate,” even when surrounded by 500 other words about love, jump right out at us? What price would we pay if we set down our hatred? What would we be giving up?
Those are the kind of questions I must ask myself when I am trying to discern God’s will.
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I’m not saying that because God hated Essau I can hate too – I’m saying that there are cases for hate, yes. The Word hate in Hebrew and Greek didn’t even mean what we perceive hate as in certain scriptures. Hate can mean “love less” – when Jesus said you have to hate your father and mother, we translate that differently than what it originally meant ” love less” – you are to love your parents less than Jesus. Hermeneutics and Exegesis goes a long way in finding the truth behind scripture.
When we understand the word hate means something slightly different it makes more sense. We are to love mans approval, the world, wickedness and everything else LESS than Jesus. It’s a mode of operation. I love everything less than I love Jesus.
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Hmm, well “hate” really does not mean “love less” in any translation. I have seen that idea put forth before especially when speaking of Essau, but I think that’s not accurate. It becomes an important point when we start speaking of God’s sovereignty and predestination.
Hate is hate, you can’t soften the word to make it more palatable.
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The subject here is the word for hate, which is the Greek miseo. One Skeptic is typical of critics when he writes:
Most Christians feel obligated to soften the face meaning of the word ‘hate’ to something like ‘love less than me,’ even though the Greek word miseo means ‘hate.’
In line with this comment, Skeptics will stress the meaning of the word “hate” and insist that the word must be read literally, and that Jesus is truly preaching hate. But in fact, the “softening” is correct to do — and is perfectly in line with the context of the ancient world, and the Jewish culture in particular.
Excerpt from an excellent article on such. Our definition of hate is different than that of ancient culture.
http://www.tektonics.org/gk/jesussayshate.php
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Thank you, I’ll read that.
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I think that when we discuss scripture it should always be done in the spirit of love, I would like to apologize to you for times that I have let my zealousness overpower my love for you. In every debate that you and I have engaged in I always come away learning something and I thank you for that. I enjoy your blog, and I also commend your patience.
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Thank you for your kindness.
I appreciate your questions, and your feisty spirit standing up for what you believe in. Iron sharpens iron, right? 🙂
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Great point. I sometimes wonder if God ever feels like I do on a lonnngggg car ride with kids that have had too much sugar and not enough sleep expressing their brotherly and sisterly “love” in the backseat of my jeep. But anyways…I just wanted to express that…you do a great job at writing. I will continue to enjoy your work ❤️
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Greetings IB, thanks first for making me think. Thanks second for making me go to my Bible and concordance. Thanks third for pointing your efforts toward Jesus!
The verses I’m grappling with, if I take your “No, it’s not okay to hate wickedness” premise are the following: Luke 14:26, Luke 16:13, John 12:25, Hebrews 1:9 (seems to praise Jesus’ hating of wickedness); Jude 1:23, Revelation 2:6. All of these use the Greek word miseō (to hate, pursue with hatred, detest). What did Jesus (or the God-inspired writer) mean in these verses and how do I apply them to my life today?
Now I don’t spend a lot of time hating pornography or drunkenness, but I do hate how I once let them control my life, and to God be the glory that I am not in their grips now. I am big fan of focusing on the authentic, rather than spending time with the counterfeits – though some feel called to that type of discernment.
Anyhow, I hear the spirit of what you are saying, and as it comes to people I am confident I shouldn’t hate anyone. Can I love them enough to stop them from doing evil things? Probably not…but God can and will if He is sought. Be blessed!
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Thank you for your kind words.
This is exactly what we need to be doing,
“What did Jesus (or the God-inspired writer) mean in these verses and how do I apply them to my life today?”
I love that! I also believe we have the Holy Spirit with us, to help us figure those things out. There are a lot of shades of gray and paradoxes within faith. It’s not always cut and dry, it’s not like people are “bad” because we saw some injustice and hated it. On the other hand, it is not like we are “good” because we spend all our time hating on all the right things.
In the context of scripture, I believe what is being conveyed and communicated is powerful emotion. So like Luke 14:25 tells us, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” What is being conveyed is the idea that nothing, not even our loved ones, or our own lives,or any other sentimental attachments, should come between us and our own relationship with God. It is NOT a commandment telling us it’s okay to hate our families.
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Good post sister, we need to be nuanced and I appreciate how you stated it.
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Hating wickedness is biblical. But one should notice their own wickedness and hate it much, much, much and long before they notice it in others and hate it in them. The truth is there is more than enough wickedness to deal with in our own lives and hearts and we should stay focused on that. Besides, the only wickedness we can really change is what we find in ourselves. When was the last time you ever “changed” somebody else?
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Love this
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Two cents worth and keep the change.
When we say we can hate as God hates something, (Proverbs comes to mind, The seven things that the Lord hates……….) we do so with a defective view of Him and ourselves.
I cannot hate with the perfect hatred that scripture speaks of, regardless of the issue or shortcoming, any more than I cannot love as God loves……….perfectly.
Note that. Perfectly. That is, all the time, in every place, past, present, and future, so I would be hesitant to include myself as one who can ‘hate as God hates.’
We cannot comprehend how God ordered the destruction of families apart from His perfection,, (other than they were enemies of Israel) yet be perfect in His judgement, but He was, because He is. Me? Not so much.
People biatch about the flood and God’s punishment of wickedness, yet they are blind to God’s unwavering hand of patience for 120 years………while the ark was a preparing. That is our entire lifetime then some. We do not have that patience, that love, that tolerance, hence, our judgement of hating what He hates is tilted. I don’t want that job. 😉
We have the ideal though, something to strive for…………though I speak with the tongues of men and angels………..and have not…………………
Good commentary msb.
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Well said, Colorstorm. Thanks, I appreciate your words.
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In that case, ub welcome. 😉
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I hope I’m not repeating someone here.
“God is a jealous God.” We should not interpret God’s jealousy to mean the same thing as when we are jealous. In the same way, we should not apply our human concept of “hate” to God. When the Word states that God hates, the word hate does not have the same meaning that it does when applied to people.
When God hates and God is jealous, He remains holy and pure and absolutely righteous. His hate and jealousy achieve pure goodness.
When we hate and are jealous, we are surely speaking of another kind of thing entirely. Not a difference of quality but of essence.
Surely no one is ascribing the kind of hate that we have to God in any way. Of course his “hate” is something other than the thing we are deciding to do or not to do.
A better question might be: How can I hate the same way that God does? And then we would need to carefully discover what His “hate” means. But we very often examine God through our lens when we ought to be looking at us through His lens.
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Amen, that’s a really good point. A jealous God is a beautiful thing, a jealous person, not so much. Our own jealousy is usually going to be tainted by comparisons, insecurity, and envy. God does not have those weaknesses and so His jealousy is motivated by love for us, not rooted in insecurity.
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Just ran across this and since it intersects with the discussion of hate and your interest in radicalizing forces I thought you might enjoy it.
http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2017/09/white-supremacist-joseph-pearce.html
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Thank you, Eavan! That is a fabulous article. I appreciate the link.
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Pingback: WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH OUR HATRED? — PART 1 – Citizen Tom
I definitely hate evil but it does keep you motivated to “do what Jesus would do.”
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Good point. “He works for good all things….,” so even evil can serve a vital purpose in the world. It certainly makes me want to run towards Him. 🙂
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I personally hate satan and his organized kingdom of darkness. I’ve seen what damage and death he causes and how happy his demons are to carry out their wicked works.
I wish I could kill them all permanently. I see no reason for them to remain here. But the Lord has given them a short period of time before their destruction.
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