What Hate Does To Us // Dawn // Luke Killam


1 John 3:15 "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murder hath eternal life abiding in him."


"I was beginning to understand. An act so absolute as that of killing involves not only the killer but, as well, those who have formed him. In murdering a man I was making them murderers . . . A man hates his enemy because he hates his own hate. He says to himself: This fellow, my enemy, has made me capable of hate. I hate him not because he's my enemy, not because he hates me, but because he arouses me to hate."

"Hate--like faith or love--justifies everything"


Hate is the depth of our depravity, and it is a cycle hard to break. It breeds from one person to the other, one malicious action to the next--and it makes us each a killer. Hate in the heart is one and the same with murder of body. The outward consequences may be the same, but inwardly, one has already done the deed. To them it is justified.

It is so easy to hate because it is so easy to get hurt. Ephesians 6:12 says that "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." It's important to realize who, or what, the real enemy is--not the object of our hate, but rather the inward desire to act upon it.

If we should hate something, it should be sin.

Colossians 3:5 "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."


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I commented on Osten and Caroline's

Comments

Joshua Evers said…
Sin separates us from God, simply put. Murder is a harsh thing, and until you repent and depend on God for redemption, you will only continue to be enslaved to sin. Elisha has been corrupted, not solely by the freedom fighters and the people, but by his acceptance of his assigned role as well.
Cade Wood said…
This was very interesting. Like Josh said, sin separates us from God. The Bible clearly expresses, as you have pointed out, that hating someone in your mind is the equivalent to murdering them. This sin resonates inside of us, and until we let go of it and seek forgiveness, and also like Josh said, repent from the thoughts that you had, our relationship with Jesus is distant.
Clabo said…
All I could think of when I was reading your post was the second example of hate in the Bible and that is the example of Cain and Abel. The reason Cain was so mad at Abel to the point of murder was not because of Abel's devotion to God, but rather because it showed a lack of devotion and sacrifice in Cain's life. People can tend to be their own worst critics because we constantly see the worst side of ourselves and the best of others. This can lead us to push anything that makes us feel worse about ourselves as far away as possible.
Addison Zanda said…
We all have areas where we feel especially tempted. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to avoid sin and giving unto temptation. But he won’t force us to use his temptation escape route. We must choose to do so.