“Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?” Psalm 139:21 ESV
Reflection: how can we love our enemies while hating wickedness?
On the surface, that seems like a pretty simple question. And if you have never run into someone who is truly wicked, it is easy to say that we are to love our enemies. But what if your child, or grandchild, is hurt, even abused by someone? Do you still say, love your enemies? It is easy to say such things to others if you have never experienced it yourself. It is like getting marriage advice from someone who has never been married.
Within the Christian circles, the topic of “hate” is not talked much about. It almost feels a bit taboo, perhaps. Something that is not of God, since God is love as John writes. We therefore hear a lot about “love”, and rightfully so. And, when it comes to the topic of hate, we quickly think of Jesus’ instruction in the sermon on the Mount, where He said ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” Matthew 5:43-46 ESV.
It is therefore easy to skip over the words of David dealing with hate in psalm 139. But they are there, written for a reason. Let’s read the few verses he wrote about this for context. “Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.” Psalm 139:19-22 ESV. So how do we reconcile the commandment of Jesus, and the words of David, given that God doesn’t change.
We often get confused about the meaning of love, because love is more than an emotional feeling. Jesus says basically to “do well” towards our enemies, as our Father does. He doesn’t say that we need to “feel good” for the wicked; rather that our actions towards them should still be out of love. In fact, they too need to hear the gospel, need to hear that what they are doing is against God’s will and intent for them. We are, as God’s people, to hate evil; which is why we read a more emotionally charged statement from David, “They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred”. This is very consistent with other parts of the Bible, where we read that the Lord “hates” wickedness, such as “haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that spill innocent blood”. Proverbs 6:17 ESV
And, if we think about it, we saw Jesus showing His hatred for the wickedness He saw in the temple, ““And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.””John 2:15-17 ESV. His hatred for the wickedness that had crept in, the same hatred as David wrote about.
Do we have the same hatred for all the wickedness around us today?
Jesus explained that “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”” John 3:19-21 ESV. The question is, whether we seek the light, and therefore hate all forms of wickedness and darkness.
Sadly, this topic of love and hate is so misused within the Christian teachings, which is why some churches have accepted, even embraced much wickedness. Let it be said of us that “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” Hebrews 1:9 ESV.
