Skip to main content

Hating Evil

             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)

This verse got an initial “Huh?” from me. Those who love the Lord are to hate evil because God guards their lives…? It’s what the ancients called a non-sequitur (It does not follow.) On second – more prolonged – look, it does. Start with the realization that “hate” does not mean “don’t like.”  You probably don’t hate Brussels Sprouts, Castor Oil, or getting up at six in the morning. You might not want to have anything to do with them, but if your neighbor wants to get up at six and read for two hours – so long as she’s not disturbing you, I doubt you’ll object. And if that same neighbor wants to eat Brussels Sprouts or take Castor Oil, you’d probably say, “More power to ye.”

Love as been defined as seeking what is in the best interest of the beloved; seeking to do good to and for the beloved. Hatred, then, is seeking what is in the worst interest of the behated; seeking to do harm to and for the behated. Dramatic language aside, chances are that you won’t start a movement to wipe Brussels sprouts and Castor oil off the face of the earth and execute anyone who gets out of bed before eight.

When we turn the subject to evil, however, the situation changes. Think of the Germans who did nothing to stop the Nazis, or the folks living in America who didn’t stop slavery before 1865. They might not have liked what the Nazis and the slave-owners were doing, but most of us would likely conclude that they didn’t hate what the Nazis and slaver-owners were doing, because they weren’t willing to risk anything to stand against evil.

Now, let’s return to the passage. Those who love the Lord are to hate evil. That requires that they take an active role in opposing what is evil. They can do this because God guards them and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. They can hate and oppose evil because God protects them. But let’s be clear and honest here. God’s protection does not mean we won’t suffer hardship or even death. Our physical lives are important, but not ultimately important. Jesus died fighting evil and rose from the dead. We may be called to follow His example.  But it is safe for us to do so because the same God who called Jesus from the tomb will call us. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more