Christian Hatred
February 16, 2013
Many
Christians love to hate. We are well justified in our choice to face the evil
of this world with our righteous hatred.
In
our modern world, there are many realities that Christians find abhorrent.
Sometimes, we Christians have little difficulty differentiating between the
things we believe are evil and good. Frequently, however, Christians will
divide over this basic analysis of our world. This reality challenges us, as
brothers and sisters in
There is, first of all, a fundamental difference between hating evil and living in hatred. To hate evil, or abhor evil as some Biblical translations interpret the Greek, is to be so disgusted by its presence that one turns away. The problem is that many Christians fail to turn away from evil. Instead, we feel a need to take it on with all the righteous anger and power we can muster. Like a warrior going into battle, rather than simply naming evil, we arm ourselves with hatred for the enemy and charge forth with the weapons of anger, rage, and abhorrence.
As this plays out in the popular culture, rather than simply turning from the powers and principalities that are hostile to God and God’s righteousness, we tend to put a face on evil—the face of the person or people we do not like. In turn, we then run the dangerous risk of living in hatred.
Such hateful living is most commonly expressed when whole groups of people who do not think, act, or believe exactly as we do are labeled in derogatory terms, branded as categorically wrong, and discounted as destined for destruction.
Our popular culture perpetuates this sinfulness when Christians are labeled in broad, prejudicial, and biased strokes as being “liberal” or “conservative” or when whole political parties are deemed as absolutely righteous or sinful.
Understandably, there is a time for Christians to stand in opposition of evil and to resist the powers and principalities that oppose God’s place in the hearts and minds of Christians. To resist evil with hatred is, however, just as evil as the very evil we seek to overcome. It is, fundamentally, a demonstration that we trust our own anger and fear more than we trust the sovereign Creator of the universe.
Are
there things, people, institutions, and practices in our world today that we do
not like? Absolutely, yes! Did