OKAY TO HATE?

 OKAY TO HATE?

Ps. 139:19-21 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life you murderers! They blaspheme you; your enemies take your name in vain. O LORD, shouldn't I hate those who hate you? Shouldn't I despise those who resist you? Yes, I hate them with complete hatred, for your enemies are my enemies. NLT

Wait a minute! How can it be that it is okay to hate? Aren't we supposed to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us? What is going on? Is the Psalmist just trying to justify himself instead of doing the hard stuff, like loving those who are wicked and hate him?

The Psalmist uses some strong language here. He suggests to God that He take matters in His own hands and destroy the wicked. He is fed up with those who want to do him harm. He reminds the Lord of what they are doing. He then asks the Lord to agree with Him in his hatred. He sees himself as justified in his hatred because they hate God himself.

There are some good things about the Psalmist's thinking. The enemies of God are our enemies. We should not buddy up to the wicked in heart and spend our lives with them. We should not cater to their whims or participate in their evil. We should speak out against them and not back down. We should expose them for who they are and not have anything to do with their lifestyle. We should despise the evil they live by and try to shove down everyone's throat.

Jesus told us to love and pray for the wicked, our enemies. Pray for those who despise you and hate you. Pray for those who despise and hate God. We don't like what they do and we do all we can to keep them from doing it or letting it affect our lives. We hate their actions, but we do remember their souls. Jesus died for them just as much as He did for you and me. He loves them and longs for a relationship with them. We, too, should long for them to be saved. We should pray for them and commit them to the Lord. What they then do with the Lord is between them and Him. With the Lord’s help, we can love them and yet hate what they do.