Jump Start # 1622

Proverbs 8:13  “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.”

  There has been another mass shooting in our country. Again, it has come from an extremist religion that thrives on hatred and violence. There is no dialogue, discussion, reasoning, or even debate. Those that they disagree with, are killed. Politicians will waste time trying to figure out how to stop these acts, while more and more are realizing that we are in a one sided holy war. It’s like the crusades, but only one side is fighting.

What makes this latest mass murder even more troubling is that it was directed toward homosexuals. The choice of homosexuality is not Biblical but that does not justify the taking their lives and casting them into eternity without faith in the Lord. It is becoming easier and easier to hate those who hate us. This is where the child of God must be careful.

Our verse today is one of several found throughout the Bible that connects God with hatred. That very idea is hard for some to grasp. The loving God, it is believed by most, looks the other way and tolerates anything and everything. Such a warped view makes God weak in justice and it dilutes His holiness. God does hate. God hates evil. God especially hates evil among His people. God has afflicted His people with diseases, opened the earth up to swallow rebels, struck down liars, burned alive those who worshipped Him improperly and allowed foreign armies to take away His people to captivity. God hates evil.

The New Testament reminds us that our weapons are not carnal and physical. In the garden, when Peter stuck with the sword, the Lord told Him to put it away. Our fight is not physical.

Hatred is powerful and dangerous, especially in the wrong minds and heart. The hatred of evil led to the mass shootings in Orlando. To the extremists, what was done was justified and right. Hatred can poison a person’s sensibility, twist their reasoning, and fuel an evil that should not exist.  Hate, like a cancer, can consume a person. It can be the only thing that they think about. It never leaves their mind. It builds and builds until the person explodes.

Hatred can lead us to saying things that we shouldn’t be saying. Hatred can led to rash decisions that are not healthy nor wise. Hatred is found not just in extremist religions, it is everyday in dysfunctional homes. An angry parent declares to her child, “I wish you were never born.” That is hatred. An angry teenager shouts, “Go to Hell.” That’s hatred. The history of most faiths in America, including our fellowship, has been marred by some personalities and choices that were fueled by hatred. There are stories that most would not believe, but they happened. In the midst of doctrinal disagreements about what a church can do, some spit on a preacher that they opposed. There are stories of knives being pulled to kill one that they disagreed with. In one long ago story, dynamite was put inside a pulpit to attempt to silence a preacher. Hatred will lead people to choosing wicked and evil ways.

God can handle His hatred. His character and His nature will keep Him from doing wrong. It is our hatred that we must keep in check. We must be careful. Listening to the constant drum beat of loose tongues feeds hatred. Talk shows can do this. Radical statements can do this. We can get so caught up with the hype that good sense and godliness leaves us. Violence causes more violence. Get enough people involved and war takes place.

The early Christians did not strike back. When arrested and tried for their beliefs they trusted in the Lord. They did not love their lives more than their faith. Their hope was not in world peace but in the Lord who would take them home. The persecutions that took place during the second and third centuries, led to many of God’s faithful being killed. They were assaulted and struck down. But their belief was that even the gates of Hades could not prevail over God’s kingdom. The powerful Romans that were behind those persecutions are not a threat today. God’s kingdom thrives. It has spread to more lands and continues to grow. Someday Isis will be no more. How this will play out and what happens we do not know. They will not destroy every Christian, we have God’s promise. There will be believers on earth when the Lord returns. The Corinthians were promised, “We will not all sleep,” the apostle said, meaning die. We will not all die. Some will be alive and be changed in that twinkling of an eye.

Hatred can be a worse enemy than extremists. Hatred can destroy the goodness of Christ in us. Hatred leaves us bitter, angry and faithless. Hatred turns us to wrong choices. Hatred usually consumes. This may be how Isis is overcome. Their hatred may turn on themselves until they are no more. I have heard that a rattlesnake, when agitated and angry will sometimes even bit itself. That may be what happens to Isis.

It is easy to become what we oppose. We see their hatred and without realizing it we become haters ourselves. Standing for the truth, being bold and drawing a line in the sand, does not mean one becomes mean, aggressive nor ugly in attitude or speech. The opposite of hatred is not tolerance. Hatred, like anger must be watched at all times. It’s like a mean dog on a chain. Be careful and certainly do not release the chain. Jesus was angry. Jesus never sinned. God hates every false way, yet God is holy. Becoming like Christ means a person must learn the balance of these things and not be overcome by them.

These are sad times we live in. Life is no longer precious to so many. These are the days of faith in the Lord. Be strong. Never quit believing.

Roger

Jump Start # 305

Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate.”

  One of the many themes in the book of Proverbs is “the fear of the Lord.” The book begins by telling us that ‘the fear of the Lord, is the beginning of knowledge’ (1:7). Fear as used in Proverbs is the idea of reverence, or respect. To care about what is important to someone else, and in this case, God. To fear God is not to be afraid of God, rather it is to respect, care for and honor what is important to God.

  Our passage brings out a negative. The fear of the Lord, we are told, is to hate evil. That statement troubles some of us.  We’ve gotten the idea that Christians are not supposed to hate at all. The word “hate” is almost a curse word and we would never use it. Here we find a positive way to do the negative—if that makes any sense. To care for God is to hate what God hates. The writer lists a series of wrong behaviors. These are all sinful. They wreck the soul, destroy our relationship with others, especially God and they cause us all kinds of trouble. Little good, if any could be said about these things. The list includes: evil; pride; arrogance; evil way; and the perverted mouth. Those items are very generic. Evil comes in many forms. Evil in motives, evil in heart, evil ways, evil plans, evil person. Pride and arrogance are twins. Where you find one you will always find the other. Pride is what is on the inside and arrogance is what is on the outside. We witness arrogance. The word “perverted” in our times has a sexual tone to it. The word actually means, “crooked,” or “bent.” It’s not straight like God, rather, it’s crooked. The perverted mouth would include lying, falsehoods, even false teaching. They are not straight. They are not true. They are perverted. They are crooked.

  The writer of this passage proclaims that he hates these things. I expect if I were to say that in a sermon, some dear sister would correct me on the side and remind me that we should never use the word ‘hate.’ But God does. The Bible does. Some things are just plain wrong. Don’t cover up the blackness of things by pretending they are white. Don’t fall for the idea that there is good in everything. No there’s not. There’s nothing good about evil. NOTHING. There’s nothing good about false things. NOTHING.

  It’s ok to say “I hate what God hates.” Evil destroys. Crooked ways confuse and lead people into error. They are not good, no matter who they come from. Now that’s where a lot of our problems are found with all of this. I hate what God hates. The crooked message from churches that do not teach the truth…family members that are evil…politicians that lie…superstars who mock God…I hate what God hates.

  Now, what do we do this this hatred? Do we bomb those that oppose God? No. Do we make offensive signs and march up and down streets, screaming at the top of our lungs? No. You don’t find the apostles doing those things. What do we do with this hatred?

  First, we do not let it turn into bitterness and destroy us. It didn’t Jesus. Bitterness leads to wrath and all kinds of unhealthy attitudes. The hatred cannot eat us up on the inside. That is never right. 

  Next, we pray. We pray for those we hate. Didn’t Jesus say to love your enemies? Pray that they will change. Pray for God to open the door of their hearts. Pray for them to follow Jesus Christ.

  Finally, we continue to cling to what is good and right. We defend God’s ways by being a part of them and opposing wrong. Don’t encourage wrong. Don’t support wrong. I’ve walked out of movie theatres before. I had enough. I’d say to myself, “If they say one more bad word, I’m leaving.” They did. So I did. I’ve written letters to the editor of newspapers before. I’ve called schools and talked to principles. Don’t ever be rude, obnoxious or threatening—never. But on the other hand, don’t try to make a friend out of the things God hates. Some things are just wrong—and that’s just the way it is. Those that do them need to be taught, encouraged to repent and behavior changed. When they won’t, we part ways. Light and darkness don’t mix. Those of darkness hate light, that what Jesus tells us. Remember, we are engaged in a spiritual combat and at stake is not the world, but your heart, your family and finally your soul.

Roger