Love and Hate

As I read the news of the vicious attack on the American embassy in Libya in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed, I wondered how people could be filled with so much hate. It seems that the Middle East is boiling over with hatred. Even here in the U.S. hatred seems to be part of our everyday life. During this election season there is so much hate shown by both sides against those they disagree with.

I recently read the following written by Nelson Mandela. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than it’s opposite”. How can we be taught to love? In Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus tells us, “you have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven”.

As Christians we say that we follow the teachings of Jesus, but we all too often set this teaching aside. Jesus loves you and as a Christian, you love Him. You understand that He loves you not because you are worthy, but because He is love and you are so helpless in your sinful condition. I hope that you know his love first hand, from experience. So from this perspective, how would anyone understand the motivation of hate? How could a Christian think of Jesus as being a hater of His own helpless children? How could Jesus hate His own children He died to woo and save?

People who hate are not cut from the cloth of God’s family. God’s children have been rescued from, transformed from the anger of our own weakness. Christ loves us because we are His children – whether we obey or not. When we love Him, then He can give us the ability to obey and to love others as He loves us. If we hate others, even our enemies, we are in need of God’s grace and transformation. How can we hate those who Jesus gave his life for.

John 3:16,17 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

But as a Christian, shouldn’t I hate evil? In Amos 5:15 the Bible tells us to, “Hate evil, love good”. I like the way that Mark Lowry talks about this issue. “Love the sinner, hate the sin? How about: Love the sinner, hate your own sin! I don’t have time to hate your sin. There are too many of you! Hating my sin is a full time job. How about you hate your sin, I’ll hate my sin, and let’s just love each other”. When we love Jesus, then He can give us the ability to obey and to love others as He loves us. It is God’s grace that saves us from sin. Grace not only forgives our past sin, but it also frees us from the power of sin, the power of hate, so we can be obedient to the God of love.

In 1 John 4:20,21 the Bible plainly tells us, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

9/11 Why?

Today is the 11th anniversary of 9/11. Most Americans can remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the awful news that airplanes had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was at work when Gina called me to tell me what she was seeing on TV. I turned my radio on, and listened all day as the news reports came in. I think that most people wonder why God allowed something so terrible to happen.

The past couple of years have been hard ones for our family.  My son has been having heath issues and had to have brain surgery this spring.  Why does God allow these things to happen?  I think that is one of the biggest questions in Christianity.

There are many events that have caused people to ask, "why". I don't have the answers as to why so many tragedies happen. I do know that ever since sin came into this world through Satan there have been terrible tragedies. I suppose that Adam and Eve asked "why" when Cain killed his brother Abel.

The only promise that a Christian has in this life is that there will be trouble. Our trouble free existence will be in Heaven where God will wipe away all tears.



When a tragedy happens, God says ask your questions, but don't stop there. God has given a much greater opportunity. God challenges us to turn to Him for answers. God challenges us to argue with Him. God challenges us to trust Him explicitly.

Bad things happen in this world, to good people, and to bad people, although it seems like the good people get the worst. Murphy's law seems to be all too true. Why do bad things happen to good people? More specifically, why do bad things happen to me? God rarely answers that question. He would pour out only goodness on us all the time, if He could, but because we live in a sinful world, He can't. Men have free will, and God will not override it.



Why do bad things happen to good people? Because we live in a sinful world. I know that's not the kind of answer we like, but there is no better answer available.

Once you have learned this and deepened your faith that God has everything under control, then maybe there is a better way to approach the bad things that happen. Don't ask "Why Me, Lord?" when something bad happens. Ask God how He wants you to respond, and then leave the consequences in His hands.

It is all in the response. God can always bring good out of bad, but He needs us to cooperate with Him to bring out the greatest good. This is why Paul can say "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Rejoice when good things happen, rejoice when bad things happen, because we can trust God to do what is for our eternal best.

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

Michael Douglas won an Oscar playing a fictional character called Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street.  In the film, Gordon Gekko makes the following speech.  “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures, the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A”

There are many people today who believe that desire for more isn’t so bad, that desire will help you get ahead in life.  Christians may know this isn’t true in our heads, but we still struggle with coveting.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9,10 Paul wrote,  “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God”.

It is obvious that God takes covetousness very seriously.  It’s one of the Ten Commandments.  If we covet we won’t inherit the kingdom of God.  But what really is greed or covetousness?

Is it wrong to desire anything?  I think most of us realize that some desires are good.  We need to be able to determine between legitimate desires and desires that are covetous.  Satan wants to take even the legitimate desires we have and tempt us to increase those desires to covetous proportions.  For instance, he will tempt us to move beyond the legitimate desire to be a good steward and have a savings account to the illegitimate desire to hoard excess amounts of resources so we feel we no longer have to depend on God.  He will tempt us to move beyond the legitimate desire for our spouse into an illegitimate desire for someone other than our spouse.

How do we determine the difference between legitimate desires and coveting?   Does God want us to have desires?  In 1 Corinthians 12:31 the Bible says, “But earnestly desire the best gifts”.

Legitimate desire will not sacrifice people for the thing desired.  Covetous desire will not sacrifice the thing desired for people.  Legitimate desire trusts God to provide in His time.  Covetous desire is not content with God’s provision.  A covetous desire will have no regard for people or relationships if they get in the way of what is desired.

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul writes to the Philippians and says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

When I was in school one of the popular songs of the day was “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones.  The lyrics said -  I can't get no satisfaction -  I can't get no satisfaction -  Cause I try and I try and I try and I try -  I can't get no, I can't get no I can't get no satisfaction. 
 

I think that the sentiment of the song tells us a lot about what is wrong with the world.  No one seems to be satisfied.  John Rockefeller, the founder of the Standard oil company and the richest man in the world around the turn of the 1900’s, was once asked, "How much money is enough money?" He replied, "Just a little bit more."

I ran across a story recently that really got my attention.  Sergio Hernandez was arrested and charged with stealing television sets and other electronics during the 1992 rioting in Los Angeles. The part of the story that really seemed strange was that Sergio had won 3 million dollars in the lottery less than 3 years earlier.

God wants his children to be at peace.  He wants us to be content.  He wants us to be satisfied.  

A successful businessman and his friends were talking and laughing together and enjoying success. The businessman told of his childhood of poverty. Someone had given him a big silver dollar. To have a silver dollar was rare for children then, and his little sister begged to hold it. He laughed over the memory of all the chores he could get her to do for him just to get to hold the coin. He told of a day when she minded the cows all day for the privilege of holding the coin, only to have to give it up at the end of the day. All of the men laughed again at the childishness of the sister.  Just then, one man reminded the businessman that all of his long hours and hard work was for the privilege of holding onto a few possessions. “The end of the day is coming, and you will have to give them up like your little sister did.”

That is exactly how it is with all of us. In Matthew 6:19,20 Jesus warned, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven “.

There are many today who are destroying their very life through covetousness.  God wants us to be content.  He doesn’t want us to say, I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.

Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus himself tells us, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”   Now that is satisfaction!