A hatred endorsed in scripture …

How many times a week do you hear someone say, “Haters gonna hate”?

We throw around the term “hate” with a great ignorance as to its real meaning, and we use it as a political weapon to attack those we disagree with.

Some of us know real hatred. Some of us have been hated, and some of us harbor hatred in our hearts. And in most of these cases where real hate exists, it’s a very ugly, sinful thing. But we do find in the Bible a hate that receives the endorsement of scripture …

“All who fear the Lord will hate evil …” – Proverbs 8:13a.

That passage of scripture continues, providing us some insight to what that means …

“Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech,” Proverbs 8:13b.

We can easily applaud the first part of this passage of scripture, agreeing that evil is a deplorable thing and should be hated by all. But when we get a glimpse of what that means — hating things like pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech — we find the idea of what evil really is hits much closer to home. Most of us know someone who is quite prideful, even arrogant; we know professing Christians whose lives are obviously corrupt, and we hear perverse speech even among our “church friends.’

Some of these things may even describe some routine behavior of our own.

Yet, the Proverb tells us ALL who fear the Lord will HATE evil.

The 19th century pastor, Henry Ward Beecher, tells a story that can help us better understand why we should hate evil …

A mother in the wild frontier country was washing clothes beside a steam. Her only child was playing nearby. Suddenly she realized he was no longer near her. She called his name, but there was no answer. Alarmed, the mother ran to the house, but her son was not there. In wild distress, the frightened woman dashed out to the forest. There she found the child, but it was too late. The youngster had been killed by a wolf. Heartbroken, she picked up the lifeless body, drew it close to her heart, and tenderly carried it home. Beecher concluded, “Oh, how that mother hated wolves!” Understandably, she detested them because of what they had done to her beloved child.

Every Christian should feel that way about evil. Like a wild wolf, it can destroy those we love, as well as ourselves.

That is all hate does.

Satan is the embodiment of evil, and we read in scripture what he is devoted to …

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy …” John 10:10a.

If we’re to be so fully, passionately set against evil that we HATE it, we must then have a hunger for holiness and righteousness. But if you look at human nature, we’re naturally inclined to behaviors that truly are evil. To hate evil and hunger for holiness will require a literal transformation of who we are. That requires Jesus …

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life,” John 10:10.

“Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God,” 1 John 3:7-10.

With language similar to that in the Proverb we read, the Apostle Paul urges us to cleanse ourselves from any evil, and to pursue holiness because we fear God …

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God,” 2 Corinthians 7:1.

So then, hating what is evil, let us set ourselves to pursue the holiness of God …

“God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you,” 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8.

Do you hate evil? Do you hunger for holiness?

Scotty