On Bearing Grudges and Hate

Matthew 5:43 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45a That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven..."

You have been told that you are to love others. One must ask "Jesus said, that we've heard that before; 'love thy neighbor'!" Where did we hear it?  Jesus said it many hundreds of years ago when he, The Word, was an inspiration of Jesus. The Word said:

Leviticus 19:18 "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord."

"Loving thy neighbor" was not a new thing. Although people "hated thine enemy" in days of antiquity, God never taught that anywhere. He did teach that those who seek to destroy the Jewish nation be destroyed themselves, but it wasn't out of hate. It was merely because it was war and for the destruction of sin! "Hate" of anyone comes from Satan. He is a murderer!  The psalmist said this:

Psalm 139:21 "Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies."

This is not God  speaking. David wrote this to "impress" God, who incidentally, cannot be impressed by the words of people; but looks at the heart. What did God say about "hate" in the Old Testament (OT)?

Deuteronomy 19:11 "But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: 12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die."

The penalty under the law for "hating" was death! That's pretty severe because of "hating another":

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

Hence, "hate" was never acceptable, not even hatred of the enemy! Hate is just like murder. It kills the spirit of those hated. In fact if a person hates another, their hate is an indictment of their very hope. Hate is the desire to have one spend eternity in hell. Hate kills the spirit of the hated! Those who hate others, just don't care! They worship their "self" and as long as their little god is not disturbed, it doesn't bother them to see others sentenced to where they belong themselves!

There is not an intermediate state in God's eyes, between love and hate. Having apathy for anyone is not loving them enough to care about their eternal destination. Apathy is a mild form of hate because it's not a position of love. Apathy is hate! Apathy kills others! Apathy kills the self!

By hating others, a person is attempting to preserve the "self". It sees the "hatee" as the enemy and seeks to undermine the other to keep their own god (the self) from toppling. By having hate, or even apathy, toward someone else condemns one's self. That "hater" "hath no eternal life abiding in him (or her)" It's ironic that the hater who is protecting their god of "self" actually destroys their own god, and that means destroying themselves! It's "cutting off the nose to spite the face" in effect!

Here's what we are to do for our enemies:  "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you..."We are to love'm, bless'm, be good to'm, and pray for'm! Even those who use us for their own purposes and persecute us!

Have you ever seen anyone who feels guilty for their own actions? Guilt causes them to react. There are two choices: repent or blame. True Christians repent, but sinners and selfish Christians blame! They preserve their "god of self" by persecuting others. It's as if "I feel badly so I will make him/her feel badly as well!" That protects the "self" from immediate hurt, but causes long-term guilt; IF the Christian has any emotions of love at all!

Lastly, why should we love others and put that apathy and hate aside? "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven..."  Love is necessary to claim your reward; the kingdom of God. Those who maintain their hate (unfriendliness even) shall get a reward too. It's eternal death!

My choice is to love others. I even love those who hate me! I don' like that they hate me, but God loves them; why shouldn't I? "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16a). If a person does not love, they are not of God because God is love!