Vol. 15 No. 46 | November 26, 2012
In Ecclesiastes 3:1,8a, the wise man says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to love and a time to hate.”
As a follower of Jesus it is sometimes difficult to harmonize these two statements. We know we are supposed to love. God is love. To be like Jesus means loving His people and His creation.
We love at all times.
We love all people.
We love the lost.
We love the oppressed.
We love the weak.
We love the poor.
We love the brokenhearted.
We love the unlovable.
We love because God first loved us.
We love one another.
We love the church.
We love deeply.
We love unselfishly.
We love sacrificially.
We love unconditionally.
We love our spouses as Christ loves the church.
We love little children.
We love our enemies.
The gospel in a word is love.
But, when do we hate?
We hate what is evil.
We hate sin.
We hate oppression.
We hate abuse.
We hate selfishness.
We hate what God hates.
We hate injustice.
We hate dishonesty.
We hate those who love violence.
We hate wickedness.
We hate the deeds of faithless men.
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19, NIV)
We love and we hate. There is a time for both. Part of me wants to encourage us to lean toward love. Part of me wants to pat us on the back when we hate the things that God hates. A greater part of me wants to encourage us all to pray for wisdom and discernment so we will know when to love and when to hate, and the courage to do both.
Tom
© Copyright 2012 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.