A bit of love and hate

Hate is a strong word, it is the polar opposite of love. To hate something is much more than indifference or dislike. Hate involves energy and passion (just like love at the other end of the spectrum). To truly hate something involves going out of your way to harm it and cause it to fail. In our passage today not only are we told to love one and other we are also told to hate evil.

Quite a strong opening paragraph I am sure you agree! You might feel uncomfortable about being told to hate something. You might think that it seems a bit odd to have this instruction sandwiched between to commands about love. However as we will see these to commands work together in helping us to achieve exactly what God wants us to do.

To be quite clear we are told to hate evil (not evil people). The difference might seem subtle but is very important. God loves all of us individually, regardless of what we are like and what we do. However God hates evil. Evil causes pain and causes us to get distracted and move away from the great ambitions that he has for us.

We typically think of evil as being the really bad things in life, like murder and violence. However we need to remember that it also starts small. Anything that is against Gods guidance is by its very nature evil, even those little white lies "that don't hurt anyone".

This week let your love grow by focusing on hating evil. Focus on trying to keep it as far away from your life as much as possible. Focus on disrupting, interfering and tripping it up at every opportunity. When you do, the rest of this passage will become easier. When evil is forced far away or caused to stumble there is more room for sincerity, love and respect. Have a great week.

Header image by: Tetsumo