I Am A Hater ... And Proud Of It
By
John DeGroff, for dumbhoosier.com
I'm not a person who uses the word "hate"
often; in fact, almost never. At least not in regard to
people.
I pretty much reserve the word for situational things
like any medical procedure involving a needle; changing a flat
tire in the rain; April 15th. You know, stuff like
that.
In regard to people, well, like everyone else who
actually gets out of the house and has a life, I've had to deal
with annoying, stupid cretins a lot. Especially in the music
business, in which I've been involved for a long time.
I've had business experiences within the music
industry where I've been screwed over royally. There are
people I probably should "hate", but why? Eventually,
I realized they're just not worth the effort. I don't hate
them, but I surely no longer trust them. There's a big
difference between hating someone and not trusting them.
Okay, so that's a long intro to my premise, which
is...when is it okay to hate?
The word "hater " has entered
the vernacular
lexicon to such a degree that it's now practically
meaningless. If you disagree with anyone or any concept, you
are now instantly branded as a "hater". Have an argument
with a gay person, you hate all gay people. Take a pro-life
stance? You're a hater of women's rights. Own a
gun and support the 2nd Amendment? You obviously hate school
children and wish them nothing but harm. It's gotten to
point that if you causally mention that you just had a great
cheeseburger for lunch, you're now a "hater" of
animals.
So, when is it acceptable to hate? As a
Christian, I wanted to see what God says on the subject.
The Old Testament prophet Amos was concerned about
the hypocrisy of Israel and its leaders of that
time. In chapter 5, versus 14, 15, he says "Seek good and
not evil, that ye may live and so the Lord God of hosts, as he
have spoken. Hate the evil and love the good, and
establish judgement in the gate..."
The overall focus of Amos is directed at the rulers
the day who sought to act and govern in ways counters to God's
divine plan for Israel. Amos regarded these rulers as worthy
of hate.
In Ecclesiastes 3:8 we're reminded "There is a time
to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace."
Obviously hate has its place. And, it's
significant that the statement about love and hate is followed by
a corresponding statement about war and peace.
Further back in the Old Testament, in Leviticus
26:17, the Lord states that "....they that hate you shall reign
over you." This evidently became an established
pattern for Israel whenever they blew it and walked away from
God's plan.
Continuing throughout the Old Testament, the Lord
shows his hatred for those who strive to do evil and go against
not only his law, but the established law of the land.
Psalms 26:5 "I have hated the congregation of evil
doers."
Psalms 97:10 "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil."
Psalms 119:104 "Through thy precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way."
Proverbs 26:24-26 sheds light on the type of
leadership and ruler that the Lord hates most. (V.24) "He
that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within
him. (V.25) When he speaketh fair believe him not... (v.26) whose
hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before
the congregation."
In the New Testament, at the beginning of Christ's
public ministry, he said to Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler (John 3:20)
"Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light lest his deeds be reproved."
Most of Christ's references to hate focus on the fact
that his ministry is bringing salvation to the entire world, not
just to the Jews. Because of that contradiction to the established
social norm, Christ himself, his message, and all those who
believe and follow him will be hated. (See Matthew
5:43,33; 10:22; John 15: 18,19, 24, 25; 17:14.)
As I said at the beginning of this article, I hardly
ever use the word "hate" in reference to people, but ever since
2008, I've struggled not to direct my hate to certain
individuals.
Mostly, I hate what the Left and American liberalism,
has done to this country by expanding the welfare state,
overreaching government control and size, and the rising national
debt.
I hate that the leadership of both parties always
seems willing to put politics over common sense.
I hate when those in power decide to circumvent the
law out of political expediency, and that can include anything
having to do with taxation, free speech, gun ownership,
immigration, justice for crime victims, etc., etc. (This could be
a very long list if I stayed with it...)
And, I hate those who claim to be religious but use
religion falsely, or as a means of political control.
I really struggle to hate the evil that is happening
to our country, and not the people who
perpetrate that evil. But when I'm called a "hater"
for standing up for what's right, it's hard not to focus my anger
on the individual.
It's also exceedingly hard not to hate what's in the
White House, a leader that fulfills the aforementioned Proverbs
26:24-26:
"He that hateth, dissembleth with his lips and layeth up deceit
within him. When he speaketh pleasantly, believe him not,
for there are seven abominations in his heart. He whose
hatred is covered by deceit his wickedness shall be revealed
before the whole congregation. "
So, I guess I'm a hater after all. The Lord
makes it clear that there is proper time to hate. Christ
himself talked of hating evil, and he never repudiated anything
found in the Old Testament. It's our duty as Christians and
American citizens who care to hate what's going on in our country,
to even hate those who want to destroy our country.
I most certainly feel I'm not alone in
this.
John DeGroff is a husband,
father, writer and musician. A native of Ohio, he now resides in
Warsaw, IN.
|
