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What Does "Hate" Mean?


                Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.  (I John 2:8-11)


          If we asked what “love” means yesterday, we must also ask what “hate” means today. The Greek word used is transliterated miseo. Think: misogynist, misanthrope, etc. We could make a list very similar to the one about love for hate. We use it for a lot of things, from our favorite foods to the politicians we oppose. For these reasons, I suggest that hate should be given the reverse of the meaning I gave for love: Hate is a consuming fire. It is an unquenchable desire for what is not in the best interest of the behated (potentially for what is in the worst interest.) It is terrible in what it will endure in opposition to the behated, and terrible in what it will require the behated to endure in its goal for what is not best (or worst) for the behated.
          We can further adjust the description from I Corinthians 13: Hatred is not patient, hatred is not kind. It does envy, it does boast, it is proud. It is rude, it is self-seeking, it is easily angered, it keeps a record of wrongs.  Hate delights in evil and rejoices with deceit. It always attacks, never trusts, never hopes, never perseveres. Hatred never succeeds.
          But, according to the Bible, it is right to hate.

Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10)
To fear the LORD is to hate evil;
hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech. (Proverbs 8:13)

Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy
           on the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:15)      

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (Romans 12:9) 
         It’s a cliché, but the answer would seem to be, “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” Unfortunately, it’s easy to not recognize that distinction. What example can I use to illustrate this. There are so many. The easiest is to pull from politics. In my opinion, Mr. Obama was the worst president we have ever had. He did evil, and he not only permitted evil, but promoted and celebrated evil. In the opinion of some folks I know, Mr. Trump fits that description better. From what the Bible tells us, we are supposed to love these men equally. As Christians, our prayers for both these men should be the same prayers – prayers for his well-being, for him to lead well, do what is right, come to the truth, truly believe and be saved, etc. At the same time, when either of these men does evil, we should hate the evil that they do, and oppose it vigorously but without hatred for the person. It’s not easy, but what is right often isn’t.
         I cannot end this without drawing upon a “chorus” that runs through the first book of the Legacies of the Dragon series that I’m writing. When my main character, Zheann, was a child, her father told her, “Don’t let them teach you to hate, Zheann. Don’t let them make you like them. Promise me.” It seems to me that this is the truth about hatred.


       

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