Love Hates

What Does God Tell Us to Hate?

God tells us what he hates, but he also tells us what we should hate. In the Old Testament, we read, “Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts” (Amos 5:15). In the New Testament, we see it again: “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). It’s pretty clear; hate evil, love good. Regrettably, an extensive discussion of the meaning of good and evil is beyond the scope of this article; however, we can say that evil harms people, so we hate evil in order to love people.

However, Jesus used the word “hate” in a way that is not so simple. He told the crowds, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even their own life — such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). But, “anyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15). Is Scripture inconsistent? Most scholars would agree that Jesus’ statement in Luke, as well as a similar idea expressed in Matthew 10:37, is hyperbole, a figure of speech. 

As Larry Osborne and Chris Brown used to say, as they preached through the Gospel of Luke at North Coast Church, this type of statement was Jesus’ way of “thinning the herd.” In fact, Jesus sought fervent followers; he wanted to spit the lukewarm Laodiceans out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16). Jesus called his people to be passionate in loving him and each other. The opposite of love is indifference, not hatred. It’s inconsistent to say, “Love doesn’t care.” It is consistent to say, “Love hates.” In a ferocious, mama-bear way, love confronts and opposes what threatens what it most loves.