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Loving The Sinner

             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)

             For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (I Corinthians 13:12)

           “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

 

            Here we go. This isn’t the only verse about hating evil. There are ten others that use the phrase, and lots more than discuss one aspect or another of hating evil. We are supposed to hate evil. For Christians, this isn’t a new tension. There’s an old adage about hating the sin but loving the sinner. That’s not an easy thing to do. Just ask anyone to whom it is suggested that they love Hitler, the most recent spree-killer, or someone who abuses children or animals. Love those monsters? They are evil!

            But when it comes to “lesser” evils, if we suggest that the deeds are evil, we are denounced as being evil in our hatred of those poor people. Sadly, this is the way evil operates. As long as you can point at someone else as being evil, you’re OK. It’s unavoidable. We cannot let mercy for the people lead to acceptance of their sin. Neither can we let judgement of the sin to lead to judgment of the people. Few of us wake up one morning and decide to become either sinful or a monster, but as C.S. Lewis pointed out, with each thought and act, we are moving either toward being a monster, or toward being something that might inspire worship. We are always a little of both. We are both sinner and victim. Our task is to help the victim, but to do that, we must hate the sin.

            So how do we do this? According to today’s passage, we do this by turning to God, by seeking His guidance and protection, by studying the Word and by praying for wisdom and vision, and by loving both justice and mercy.

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