"Hating What God Hates" 9/30/25

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

I have written before about the extent of David's heart for God (see blog post: "Delight in the Thoughts of God" 7/9/24). He sought the LORD with an intensity that shocks our modern sensibilities; even to the point of saying "Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?" (Psalm 139:21). Yes, the same David who loved his enemies deeply. Consider David's words in Psalm 35:11-14, this was a man who prayed that the wicked be destroyed, yet loved them also.

Talk of hatred makes many Christians uncomfortable and understandably so. We recognize the danger of such a strong emotion, how frequently our anger is mis-directed and uncontrolled. But as Christians we are called to hate what God hates, even while we pray for and seek the salvation of those who hate God, even while we love our enemies. 

Proverbs 8:13 reminds us, the fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

If we truly revere God, we cannot remain apathetic towards what he hates. There is a time for righteous indignation rightly directed (not towards vengeance which belongs to God, but towards an uncompromising stand for truth, motivated by love, love for God and for our neighbor). Returning evil with evil is never the answer, the one who hates evil, fights evil with good (Romans 12:17-21). There is a kind of love that cannot be manufactured, a supernatural love that forgives even while one hates wickedness.

Examples from the Psalms of a righteous hatred

Psalm 26:5  

I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.

Psalm 97:10 

O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 101:3  

I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

Psalm 119

104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 113 I hate the double-minded, but I love your law. 128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way. 163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.

Psalm 139:21-22 

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

We humans are complicated creatures, we hold love and hate in the same heart, sometimes even for the same person. We love them, yet we hate who they've become. Or we love them, but only with a selfish love that soon bleeds over into anger when those we love do not satisfy us. Psalms like these lead us to ask the question, " Are my affections (what I love) shaped by God and His will or by my own intuitions and sensibilities?" 

A famous list

Proverbs 6:16-19 is a famous list of sins God hates. These sins exemplify a heart that is opposed to God. Do you hate these seven things?

1) haughty eyes

2) a lying tongue

3) hands that shed innocent blood

4) a heart that devises wicked plans 

5) feet that make haste to run to evil

6) a false witness who breathes out lies

7) one who sows discord among brothers.

Notice how the list illustrates the pervasiveness of our sin, from heart to eyes, tongue, hands, and feet. No wonder, we depend on the mercy of God in Jesus for salvation and long for the justice that is to come. We can learn much from meditating on such a list and contrasting these sins with the affections and attitudes that please God. 

With this in mind, I invite you to join me over the next couple of months, as I consider and reflect on seven things God hates and seven He loves. 

In Christ's Service,

Matt