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UNION GROVE CHURCH OF CHRIST, CLEVELAND TN. |
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HATRED DESTROYS
God the Father said to His Son, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity" (Hebrews 1:9). The Lord instructs His followers, "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" (Romans 12:9). These two passages make it clear that it is appropriate to hate iniquity or that which is evil in God’s sight. Yes, such hatred is justified. On the other hand, there is a hatred that the Bible condemns. Hatred of other people, hatred of Deity, and hatred of God’s word or anything that He designates as holy, is wrong. Hatred is described as a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19,20). It often fills the hearts of those that are outside of the Christ, as we read in Titus 3:3: "For we ourselves also were sometimes . . . hateful, and hating one another" (Titus 3:3). Hatred, though it may have been a part of our past life without the Christ, should never find a place in the hearts of God’s children. Hatred destroys. Let’s note a few ways that its destruction can be seen. Hatred destroys the one that does the hating. How can that be? Hatred destroys the hater in that that it causes his/her thinking to be unstable and chaotic. Joseph’s older brothers hated him, then as time went along "they hated him yet the more" (Genesis 37:4,5,8). As a result they desired to kill him, but settled on selling him into slavery. Selling or killing one’s own brother is not what right-thinking people have a desire to do! Hatred destroyed Joseph’s brothers’ ability to think rationally. It does the same to modern-day haters. Hatred can destroy innocent people when that hatred leads to violent or wrong acts against them. Because of hatred, some take out guns or other weapons to cause physical injury to others. The catastrophic events of September 11, 2001 serve as a reminder of this fact. Surely all members of the church see the danger of hatred when it leads to physical violence. However, we also need to recognize that hatred can bring great damage to others without causing any physical harm. Telling lies or spreading rumors about a person can cause irreparable damage to his/her reputation. Such lies or rumors can destroy marriages or cause people to lose their jobs. In so many cases, the lies or rumors that are told are simply an outgrowth of hatred that is deep-seated in a person’s heart. Such hatred ought not be named among the saints of God, ever! Remember, Jehovah hates "A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:19). Hatred can also destroy the lives of those whom the haters are able to influence. That is, hatred can be contagious. When kids grow up in a family where dad and mom talk, even boast, about hating people of another family, state, race, or nation, then the chances are pretty good that the children will develop the same strong disliking for those in such groups. Never mind that such hatred is unjustified and illogical, it is just something that "has to be done." Hatred breeds more hatred, and sometimes "second generation hatred" is even stronger than the hatred of the original haters. How sad. Brothers and sisters, let us never forget that our Lord’s wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour" (Romans 13:9,10). Hatred destroys relationships. It destroys families, friendships, and the unity of God’s kingdom. Who has not heard of families in which the members cannot seem to say anything "civil" to one another? How many times has hatred separated those that at one time were the best of friends? How often has hatred polarized a congregation of God’s people? Some local churches have been so disrupted by hatred that some members quit attending because of the constant tension. While we do not seek to excuse anyone that decides to quit attending, at the same time we understand how hatred among the Lord’s saints can go a long way in turning people off. Woe unto those that cause others to stumble (Luke 17:1,2). And, woe unto them that by their hatred cause the Lord’s house to be divided (Mark 3:24,25). Please consider one final destructive aspect of hatred: Hatred destroys one’s relationship with the Lord and causes a child of God to forfeit his/her chance to go to heaven. Yes, that is strong language, but sometimes that is what it takes to help us see things as they really are. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15). The Bible says that those who are guilty of hatred (without repenting of such) "shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:20,21). That is what the Lord says about it, so you and I need to accept His message and spread the word to others: hatred will keep folks out of heaven! The Lord Jesus said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). The fruits of hatred are rotten, pure and simple. Hatred destroys. May we all learn this lesson and do our best to instruct others of hatred’s destructive, dangerous, and damning ways. -- Roger D. Campbell |
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