Bible Studies

HATE IS A PART OF LOVE

by GLENN PEASE
12/08/21
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If you love the good, then by necessity, you must hate what is not good. It is a paradox, but the fact is, hate is a part of true love. If I love purity, I must hate what is dirtyand impure. If I love beauty, then I must hate what destroys beauty and makes it ugly. Hate of what is evil is good and not an evil itself. Christians need not feel guilty for having hateful attitudes toward what is not pleasing to God. He hates it, and so shoud we if we love Him.

Dr. Jack Hyles said what most all would agree with-"...it is impossible to have true love without hate. One cannot love flowers without hating weeds. He cannot love health without hating disease. He cannot love God without hating Satan. He cannot love
peace without hating war. "The truth is there is no quality without its opposite. There is no high without low, no hot without cold, no large without small, no tall without short, and no in without out. There is no merit in a plus without the potential of a minus. There is no true patience without the potential of impatience. There is no true good without the potential of bad. There is no courage without fear, no true gentleness without strength, no admirable kindness without the potential of temper, and certainly one cannot love if he does not hate its opposite and its enemy."

" The more a mother loves her child, the more she hates the cancer that would take that child's life.The more a gardener loves his flowers, the more he hates the weeds that surround them. The more a mechanic loves his cars the more he hates the
rust that paralyzes them. The more a judge loves justice, the more he hates
the crime. The more a doctor loves his patients, the more he hates the
germs. The more a Christian loves God, the more he hates sin and the things
that are anti-Christ."

Ps 97:10 Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 119:104, ``Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.''
Psalm 119:163, ``I hate and abhor lying: but Thy law do I love.''

Ps 139:21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
Proverbs 6:16-19, ``These six things doth the Lord hate:yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among the brethren.''

If God hates these six things then we have an obligation to love the opposites of them.
Dr. Dave Lescalleet who serves as the Director Chaplaincy for PruittHealth put it this way, "Now, if God hates these things in this passage (and He does!), then it stands to reason he loves just the opposite. In other words, if God hates haughty eyes that means he loves the eyes of humility. If God hates a lying tongue what does he love? A tongue of integrity. If God hates those who shed innocent blood, he loves those who defend the innocent. If he hates the heart that devises wicked schemes, how much more does he love the one who works towards virtue? If God hates feet that rush to evil, how much does he love feet that run towards goodness? If he hates a false witness, he must love a true witness! If he hates those who sow discord, how much more does he love those who sow unity and peace? At the end of the day, the Proverbs writer is asking us to consider: What kind of people are we striving to be? May we strive to be those who practice what God loves! "

The internet author of Got Questions wrote, "No one should be surprised to learn that God does hate some things. He created us with the capacity to both love and hate, and we acknowledge that hatred is sometimes justified—we naturally hate things that destroy what we love. This is part of our being created in the image of God. The fact that we are all tainted with sin means that our love and hatred are sometimes misplaced, but the existence of the sin nature does not negate our God-given ability to love and hate. It is no contradiction for a human being to be able to love and hate, and neither is it a contradiction for God to be able to love and hate."

Pr 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Ec 3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Am 5:15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate:
Zechariah 8:17,And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour;
and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith theLord.''
Heb 1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Re 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Re 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

These texts make it clear that being a Christlike loving person does not mean you never hate anyone or any lifestyle or way of thinking. God hates evil, and Jesus hates evil, and if we do not hate evil, we are not Godlike or Christlike.