Get Released from Hatred

A common question, “Why is there so much hatred in the world?” A common statement, “I’ve never seen hatred on a scale such as this.” The Bible alone gives the answer and the explanation. The scale of hatred such as we’re seeing it, is one of the evidences that we’re living in the end times. It takes a while, but hatred is what happens when the laws of God get tossed aside. 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. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself Matthew 22:37-39.

To love the LORD your God with all….. Someone rightly asks, “How is that possible?” It’s not possible, unless you permit the God of love to enter your innermost being to teach you how. And that’s not possible unless you believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ, because nobody gets to God unless they come by way of Jesus John 14:6. Which in turn makes it impossible to love our neighbor as our self. The commands of God are not given in a vacuum as one might suppose and man’s religious practices, rituals, traditions and rules are no substitute for the real thing. If adherence to those things was all it took, love for God and our neighbor would be seen everywhere and hatred would not be the topic of this post.

Another evidence we’re living in the end times: You will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake….. many will be offended, will betray one another and will hate one another Matthew 24:9-10. Many church preachers will be held accountable before God for a lot of this hatred. Why? When they saw people in their church becoming offended at their preaching on sin and eternal damnation they backed off. They watered down their preaching, limiting it to, “God loves you, God is love, come to Jesus and be blessed.” The command to, “Repent, turn from your sins; live for God, not for yourself,” got left out. Then as time went on, in walked the charlatans, the soothsayers, the smooth-talkers. Now the church doesn’t want it any other way, for the most part.

Of these end times and such people, Jesus said, Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold Matthew 24:11-12. We may think we’re clever saturating ourselves in watered down “preaching” but in doing so we could be watering seeds of hatred creating in turn a lawless and cold heart. Some of the coldest people I have met have been members of a well-known US mega-church, whose pastor is equally well-known, but perhaps less so for his watered down preaching and Bible interpretations! I’ve often wondered about such churches and pastors and have come to the conclusion they would betray one another if the circumstances called for it.

Church charlatans, soothsayers and smooth-talkers live their lives according to the works of the flesh, not the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:16-25. Of the 17 works listed, one is hatred. When holy men of God faithfully preach the holy word of God, the Holy Spirit of God makes it His business to ensure both preacher and hearer alike, get released from hatred. Not so, the other crowd. One only has to read of the Pharisees and scribes to see that. They kept hatred well hidden until John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ came on the scene, but once they did so, they got exposed big time! There’s nothing like truth to expose hatred in the heart of another, religious or non-religious. Whoever hides hatred has lying lips….. Proverbs 10:18.

Christians hiding hatred, particularly hatred for parents, can suffer greatly from emotional and physical sickness. A lady seeking prayer for healing was asked how she got on with her mother when she was alive. She said, “Fine.” When asked if that was the truth she looked down and cried and sobbed and confessed she hated her. It was a sad story, but the good news was she got released emotionally and physically the moment she confessed her hatred as sin to the Lord. “Honor your father and your mother,’ which is the first commandment with a promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Praise God Ephesians 6:2-3 is more than simply words in black ink on white paper! 

Hiding hatred for parents is not the only reason Christians suffer from emotional and physical sickness though. Hiding hatred for family members, former school teachers, school bullies, spouses, bosses and work colleagues – if we ignore the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin for unforgiveness on any of these, then hatred gradually takes control making it a root cause of such sickness. That’s why Christians often become dependent upon prescriptive medicines every bit as much as unbelieving people do. He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy Proverbs 28:13. “God may cover a man’s sins, and it is an instance of his grace, and it is the glory of it to do it, but a man may not cover his own.” – John Gill.

Anti-Semitism is an evidence of hatred residing within Christians – ‘hostility to or prejudice against Jews.’ Christians claiming, “I’m not anti-Semitic, but….,” need to get delivered from that lie; hostility and prejudice against Jews is where they’re at and that’s hatred for Jews so far as God is concerned and such hatred places them under God’s curse, not blessing Genesis 12:1-3. And yes, most certainly church charlatans, soothsayers and smooth-talkers will throw a burning match on those Scriptures and others like it, but one day God is going to throw them into a burning lake of fire! They don’t believe that of course, but…… Why are there Jew haters? Three reasons: 1). they are God’s chosen people. 2). they gave us the Bible. 3). Jesus Christ is a Jew.

That’s a sample of the hatred that resides within Christian people and all praise to God for His love, mercy and power to deliver us from it when we respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction. However, if there’s a failure to respond, then that hatred will ally itself with the hatred residing in unbelievers. Take the workplace for example. Unbelievers open up on their hatred for the same things mentioned here and whilst the Christian doesn’t open up on theirs, they agree with the unbeliever instead of prayerfully listening with a view to offering help at the appropriate time. Every piece of negative “news” spewed from television or the Internet get discussed, hatred shows its hand and so on and on it goes until retirement!

Replicate that scene or something similar a trillion times over 60 or more years, it’s no wonder there’s hatred in the world on the scale such as it is today. We who are the salt of the earth are losing our flavor; we’re in danger of becoming good for nothing, getting trampled underfoot by the pressures, delusions and philosophies of the unbelieving crowd Matthew 5:13. When godless, truth-despising, Christ-despising, Cultural Marxists do the trampling we allow ourselves to get squashed and squelched without a squeal! Think that’s harsh? Well where is the church’s protest against the mad people who are calling for the death or assassination of President Trump? Think it’s purely ideology that’s driving these people? No. It’s hatred; maniacally so.

How’s this for hatred – expressed in a Tweet by a Newsweek writer a few days ago. “As one w/ preexisting condition: I hope every GOPr who voted 4 Trumpcare sees a family member get long term condition, lose insurance & die.” Doubling down when challenged, he’s reported as saying, “I want them to be tortured.” Well sadly – very sadly, guess who is being tortured? That’s what hatred will do to a person; it’s like layers of an onion. If one doesn’t peel back the layers to get to the first cause, then layer upon layer is added with each hurt or offense; emotional and physical sickness takes over eventually putting one into an early grave. With this in mind, think now of the harm hatred is doing to the millions of Christ-haters, truth-haters, Trump-haters etc, all across the globe.

Where we are on God’s calendar, only God knows. But Jesus did say we could read the signs and one of the signs we’re living in the end times is this world-wide expression of hatred from both young and old. Yes, there’s always been hatred but not on the scale we’re now openly seeing it. When there’s no love for God, love for self will seek to fill the gap; but it doesn’t fill and people know it. The solution then? Receive the love of God offered in Jesus Christ the Savior; get released from hatred by getting released from sin, fear, guilt, worry, anger, anxiety, bitterness and unforgiveness. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it Matthew 16:25. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly John 10:10.