The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.

                                                                                                   Proverbs 8:13 

Today: Read Proverbs 8

There are times when it seems that the concept of Christian love is misunderstood. Yes, we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Yes, we are to treat others the way that we want them to treat us (Matthew 7:12). We are to consider others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4) and we are even to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48). Yes, love is the fulfillment of the Law (Romans 13:10) and this ability to love comes from the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22-23). But today’s passage reminds us that although we are to love people, we are to hate sin and the destructive power that it has on our lives and the lives of others.

Ask anyone who has seen the devastating effects of addiction invade and begin to destroy the life of someone they love. As they watch this loved one struggle and, tragically at times, succumb to the overwhelming destructive force of addiction, ask the family if they love that individual. Although there may be anger over the situation, the family will usually express their love for the individual in spite of the circumstances. But ask them how they feel about the substances and you will probably hear the word “hate” used. Yes, at all times, we are to love with the love of Christ, but we are to hate sin.

Some sin does not come with such obvious destructive power as that of substance abuse. Some sin works quietly, below the surface in the heart of the individual. But as with all sin, apart from Christ, it will eventually bring death. Because of this reality, we should despise it all the more. Perhaps the sin we observe in our life or in the lives of others is that of pride, idolatry, or arrogance. Scripture gives us great insight behind the wisdom that takes us out of the world’s destructive philosophies and into a redeemed and blessed life in the Savior.

First, we are to be guided by the love of God, not the trappings of the world. Consider the following:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

                                                                                                   1 John 2:15-17 

May I suggest that to “not love” is to “hate” or “despise.” Some might argue that there is a middle ground in that we can like something but not love it. I believe that by instructing us to “not love the world or the things in the world”, scripture is telling us to resist any fondness towards these things. Lust of the flesh (sexual immorality), lust of the eyes (greed), and the boastful pride of life (idolatry and arrogance) are just as damaging to our lives as substance abuse. Therefore, we should hate these world philosophies just as much as anything else that can bring destruction to our lives. No, we don’t stop loving the people in the world, just the philosophies and trappings of the world.

Secondly, if we should discover ourselves getting “chummy” with the world and its ways, we need to be aware of the effect that this will have on our relationship with God. Consider the following: 

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

                                                                                                         James 4:4 

Being “hostile” toward God or being an “enemy” of God is to oppose God. It is not an overstatement to say that friendship with the world means that we hate God and His ways. That may come as a shock to some but the very essence of both of these words is to oppose and to hate. This would be the very opposite condition of the Christian heart. Adoption of the world’s ways while somehow hanging on to our faith in Jesus is entirely incompatible and impossible. We will either despise one and embrace the other or vice versa (Matthew 6:24). Does that mean that a Christian is incapable of being swept up in the world and its ways? Not at all! To live in this world and be a follower of Jesus is to experience trials, temptations, and struggles. This is what Paul was speaking of when he writes:

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 

                                                                                                         Romans 7:19, 21-23

As believers, the overarching desire of our hearts is to please God and to love Him with our entire being. Our position with God is in Christ but our relationship with Him can be affected as we embrace the very things that we should oppose and despise.

Finally, one of our greatest weapons against falling into the world’s philosophies and its destructive power is that of humility. Consider the following: 

…clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

                                                                                                                       1 Peter 5:5b 

Notice that humility is an attitude of the heart toward others. It is an area of life that we cannot accurately assess ourselves. We cannot boast about our humility without proving ourselves to be without it. Only others can accurately evaluate whether or not we are humble. But it is this heart attitude of humility that keeps us focused on Christ and all that He has accomplished on our behalf. It also aids in helping us put others before ourselves. God is truly opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to those who are humble!

Peter, James, and John together formed Jesus’ inner circle of three during His earthly ministry. These men, along with Paul, remind us of the truths that “wisdom” speaks in the Proverbs. Love people, but hate sin.