“Love must be genuine. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Rom. 12:9); “O you who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Ps. 97:10); “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice…” (Amos 5:15).
Dear Father, I have never, ever strung together 3 portions of your Word featuring the call to “hate evil.” But the longer the war in Ukraine continues, it’s the emotion I feel, the disposition I have, the passion I must steward. I HATE the cruelty to children, the atrocities heaped on the elderly, the raping of women, the pillaging of homes and businesses—the unrestrained, horrific evil of this war.
But if I only hate what’s going on in Ukraine, and don’t steward my hatred, I will become what I hate. My hate will morph into vengeance, which you say isn’t mine (Rom. 12:19). My anger will be just “man’s anger,” which won’t bring about the righteousness you desire (James 1:20). I’ll end us hating certain people more than I hate evil.
So, Father, please… for your glory and honor, may my hatred of evil only be fueled by a 10-fold greater love for you (Ps. 97:10), by a genuine, sacrificial love for victims of evil (Rom. 12:9), and out of a love for the “good” and “justice,” as revealed in your Word and the Gospel.
Until the Day of no more evil and evil-makers, help me and my friends love you, love your Kingdom, love the least and the lost, love as Jesus loves us. So Very Amen.