When hate is good

There are many passages in our Bibles that make it clear that we are to love one another. We’re told to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) and to love God and our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-39).

Love, of course, is the opposite of hate. But can hate ever be a good thing? I’m glad you asked.

Hating the things that God hates is a beautiful hatred

In the book of Psalms, we read, “I will set no evil thing in front of my eyes. I hate the work of those who turn aside” and it also says “I hate every false way.” It’s important to notice that these scriptures don’t tell us to hate those who turned aside but rather to hate the work of those who turned aside. We are to love people, whether or not they are evil, but we are not to love their sin.

The book of Proverbs also speaks of hate, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogance.” We’re to hate the sin in our own life so much that we avoid it at all cost. We are to hate it so much that we are expected to flee from it (see Luke 21:21, 1 Corinthians 6:18, 10:14, 1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 2:22, and Hebrews 11:25).

As we gain wisdom from God, we can learn to avoid situations that lead to sin altogether. But, if you ever find yourself in a bad situation that’s likely to result in sin, flee from it! Don’t toy with sin like a cat toying with a mouse. Don’t play with a risky situation that is likely to lead to sin. That’s like a child playing with matches. It often ends up badly.

If we hate sin with a holy hatred and ask God to strengthen our resolve, we can be victorious.

May you be victorious in the Lord, Jesus Christ,
Daniel