Developing a Holy Hatred

It was one of my favorite parts of the day. The bus dropped me off at 3:10. By 3:15 the T.V. was one with an episode of either The Three Stooges or The Little Rascals filling the screen. Being a child myself, I could resonate with The Rascals. And being a young boy, I wanted to join their club. You remember the club, don't you? The he-man-woman-haters-club was one club was not just their club but mine too. Over the years, however, the he-man-haters club turned into the he-man-I really like-girls club. And then when I got married it became the he-man-I love this woman, I thank God for this woman, I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I cannot and do not want to remember what it was like to be single-club.

Yet, I wonder if a Christian man can and should have any room in his life for hate. The answer, I believe, is a firm yes and no. On the one hand, followers of Christ are not given room by God to hate people. So the answer is no. On the other hand, we are given permission to hate sin. So in this regard the answer is yes.

It is this hatred that I woke up with this morning. I hate sin. I hate what sin does to my life--how it robs me of peace and joy and takes my focus off God. I hate what sin does to our families--how it tears down and tears apart. I hate what sin does in our churches--how it robs us of effectiveness and creates petty divisions in the body. I hate what sin does to our society--how it weakens our moral fabric and turns resolve, courage, and virtue into antiquated ideas in a society of people-pleasers and how it turn perversion into a matter of preference.

With all this hatred, something strange happened. A radical love began to awaken, as I think of how much God hates sin. His hatred for sin requires blood, and while it should be my blood that is required for my sin, it was his blood shed in my place that takes the curse of sin from me. Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Now I have the power to put to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13). Now I am ready to worship and live this day for the glory of Christ. May God make us all sin-haters that we may become Christ-lovers.