Hate Evil !

 As Christians, we don't like to think about hate. We know we are to love everyone, even our enemies. However, God wants us to be like Him. He is holy. He hates sin with a holy hatred. He wants us to hate sin, too. In fact, that is the only way for us to be holy like Him. Therefore, we need to pray for a holy hatred of all that is evil, while loving those who act wickedly.

The Bible is very clear about this in many places. (Psalm 97:10) Here, the psalmist gave us, as those who love the Lord, God's command to "hate evil." Then, he explained that God watches over the souls of the godly ones, the ones who are holy. He saves us from the hand of the wicked. What a blessing to have a God who cares for us that much. So we need to seek to be godly every day.

Yes, the first and great commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul. We will fall very short of godliness unless we are motivated by a sincere love for the Lord. When we love Him, it will be a joy to please Him and do whatever He wants us to do. However, love for the Lord by itself is not enough to be godly.

We have to hate evil. Our hatred must be enough to keep us away from all evil, even the appearance of evil. If we hate evil, we will not compromise with the world, the flesh, or the devil when we are tempted to do the wrong thing. We will resist these temptations because of our hatred for sin, and because of our love for our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He is our Lord, and He is our Model, since He became the God/Man and lived a sinless life by hating evil and loving the Father.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 98-100.