Hate evil but learn to love the people

Psalm 97:10 (NLT)

10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.

In this psalm we are told if we love The Lord we are to hate evil. For as we draw closer to The Lord our desire for evil diminishes. We are told too that God protects the lives of those who follow him and rescues them in their time of need.

There are two commands I believe that draw us closer to people. The first is - love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. For when we have a deep love for the Lord our actions line up with those of God. We learn and understand from Him the purpose of our lives and how rich our lives can be. We begin to understand God and His great love for us and how He extends mercy and grace to each of us. It is through this personal relationship with The Lord that we gain knowledge of the Lord and understand His intent for our lives.

The second command comes from Jesus. In John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Here in this verse Jesus tells us not only to love God, but to love all those around us. We are to build relationships with others. We are to extend love, mercy and grace to them, just as God would do for us.

Christians often have a misconception that in hating evil, we are to hate the people committing the evil acts. The truth is we are supposed to help people turn from evil. We can’t do that if we hate them, but we can do that when we love them and hate the evil that affects them. Remember we are to love one another, showing grace and mercy to all.

So let me ask this, when you see someone committing evil do you hate the evil or the person? Hopefully it is the evil act you hate and that you understand the impact it is having on the other person’s life. I never really knew my father because he was an abusive alcoholic. I never hated my father, but I did hate how alcohol had taken over his life. When the alcohol was missing from his life he could be a decent person. But let him start drinking and he would become someone you could fear.

Hopefully you see the distinct between hating evil, while loving the person and trying to help them. May God bless all your efforts and I pray God would show you how to direct people away from evil in their lives.