Turn, Turn, Turn 8

For everything there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under heaven.

A time to love and a time to hate;

A time of war and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,8

Hate (hāt) vt. hated, hating

1 to have strong dislike or ill will for; loathe; despise

2 to dislike or wish to avoid; shrink from

I was taught from early childhood that it is wrong to hate someone, and Jesus spoke quite pointedly about hatred of people as an extension of the desire to murder.  I view “a time to hate,” therefore, from the position of hating things or circumstances.  In that context, I drew up the following list:

Things I Hate:

The sight of a horrific automobile accident with loss of life

Filthy language in the presence of children

The sight of a homeless person with nowhere to go

Dentist appointments

The sound of a child being screamed at

Spiteful criticism

Needles at the doctor’s office

Any language calculated to tear down rather than build up

To watch someone’s health rapidly deteriorate

To lose a friend.

Prejudice

Cruelty to animals

Selfishness

Verbal abuse

I am not blinded to fact that much of what I hate is perpetrated by people.  It brings up the old “Hate the sin, love the sinner” conundrum:  the very thin line between hating what people do vs. hating the people themselves.  The ability to love unconditionally is a gift that only God can give us.  His love reaches out to us regardless of what we have done.  He does not excuse our sin – He forgives us.  When it comes to our dealings with those around us, perhaps forgiveness is the intersection between love and hate.