Only One Thing We Are Told to Hate

     In this season of good will towards man when cheery greetings are exchanged, there still seems to be an atmosphere of hate that pervades our culture, political discussions and sadly, even in families.  We all know that hate is a powerful emotion that destroys everything it touches; yet, the Bible says there is one thing only which we may hate.
     Psalm 97 magnifies the Lord, His sovereignty over all things and His coming judgement of this world.  Verse 10a, though, tells us the one thing we are to hate:  "O you who love the Lord, hate evil!..."  Why are we told to hate evil?  Because, God hates evil.  He is holy, pure, righteous and altogether without sin.  Since He is holy, we, as believers, are called to be holy likewise (I Peter 1:16).  Therefore, we are to hate what God hates and desire to live righteous lives of moral character based on the Bible.
     When I read this verse today, I had to pause and consider what a struggle we are facing in our world today.  It is a conflict between good and evil.  All the mores which once governed conduct have slowly been eroded by time and man's sinfulness.  From the beginning, God laid out His moral standards for godly life in "The Ten Commandments" given to Moses.  Furthermore, these values are expressed in greater detail throughout the Scripture if we take time to read it.  There is no compromise, equivocation, or duplicity with the Lord.  Jesus said in Matthew 24:35:  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."  Still man tries to bend God's Word to suit his own purposes.
     A good example of this comes in the Theory of Evolution.  Many of the supporters of this theory in the early days applauded the idea that life evolved rather than being created by God.  A prime advocate for this approach to life was Aldous Huxley (an essayist and novelist) who famously said:  "For myself, as, no doubt, for my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation.  The liberation we desired was simultaneously liberation from a certain political and economic system and liberation from a certain system of morality.  We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom (Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means, 1938, pgs. 269-270, 273).  What many want is freedom from any constraints on behavior or conduct.  If they do not have to answer to God or even believe that He exists, they are free to indulge in all types of actions without any consequences spoken of in the Bible.  How convenient.
     Over the years, marriage has gone from the God ordained one man and one woman to include two of the same sex.  Many live together and have children without the benefit of marriage thus weakening the family, and even gender identity has been left to question.  Unfortunately, many churches have bought into society's view rather than following God's mandate in His Word.  They seem to stand in judgment of God's Word as being too harsh and not inclusive enough.  Some say, they would rather show "God's love" than any condemnation for alternate lifestyles.  Yet Jesus made it clear that God's Word will remain long after these churches have disappeared.
     If God is immutable (unchanging in any way), then His commands and instructions are without compromise.  God hates evil and what He created at the beginning was good.  After the fall, however,
man began to twist the Word to suit himself and his appetites.  It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection power that we are redeemed from this sin nature.  We receive a new heart and a new way to live which includes hating all that is evil.  We are never to hate people.  Our conduct is to reflect the holiness of God through prayer and study of His Word.
     Beloved, of all the people in this world, we must demonstrate our love for others by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ so that others can be liberated from the self destructive bondage of sin.  We only hate evil and can never excuse it away.  If we are to be a light in this world, we must take a stand against all that is contrary to the Word of God in our communities, nation and churches.
     Psalm 97: 10b-11 ends with this:  "He preserves the lives of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.  Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart."  Let us learn to love what God loves so  that we can glorify His name and enjoy Him forever!  Selah!