Hi Friend,

Christians know that God is love so it seems counterintuitive to ask if there is anything that God hates, yet it is essential to knowing God. After all, if there is something or someone that God hates, I want to be aware of it.

Love for your children, for example, means that you will inevitably despise the things that may harm them or corrupt their minds. More and more, statistics show that an increasing number of parents detest the evil influence of the public school system, so they are removing their children and choosing to homeschool them instead.

Because we know that God is love and that He loves us, it may be a surprise to learn that He also expects His people to “hate” certain things. The Psalmist writes, “Those who love God must hate evil.” (Psalm 97:10) It is not that we are permitted to hate evil—we MUST hate evil to protect what is valuable.

Historical examples of mass evil have been Hitler’s Nazism, Stalin’s Russian Communism and Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communism. Estimates range upward of 100 million citizens murdered to impose cruel bondage by these despotic rulers on their respective countries. These figures do not account for the billions that have been brutalized, tortured, imprisoned, and lost property to their tyrannical regimes. The exact figures are impossible to know. Communism is a system that abhors freedom, hates religion, and destroys the family. It undermines parental trust by using the public education system to indoctrinate children to inform civil authorities when parents disagree with the state.

Jesus warned us of such a time. Furthermore, He knew His message could be misunderstood so He had to tell us, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.” (Matthew 10:34) If that isn’t difficult enough to understand, He follows with an even stronger message, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” We often hear His command to “Love your enemies” or “turn the other cheek” but we rarely hear the balancing statement.

It is important to note that God’s hatred is not aggressive. Rather, it is reserved to defend the innocent against invaders as a homeowner is justified to defend his family against an intruder.

What are the things that God hates?  Proverbs 6:16-19 names “six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community .“

Notice the last two items that God hates are people. It is hard for us to comprehend that the God who would sacrifice His Son as payment for our sins also hates evil people.

Finally, (maybe I should say first) the most overlooked thing God hates is false worship. Since the beginning, man has underestimated the damage done by false worship. The strongest warning was given to ancient Israel to “take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them.” (Deuteronomy 12:29-30) “Them” refers to people who encourage you to go after false gods. They are portrayed as hunters setting out traps for unsuspecting animals, but in this case, it is not an animal that is in danger—it is an innocent human who is not aware of the stalker.

The warning continues, “You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods.” (Verse 31) There are no words that could more accurately express the strength of God’s emotions than “abomination” and “hates.”

When a Pharisee who was a lawyer asked Jesus, “which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22:34-36) This is the greatest commandment, so it is logical that the greatest sin is false worship.

Even King Solomon taught that there is, “a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. (Eccl. 3:8) A man must hate evil, and the greatest evil is worship of a false god.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien