Psalm 97:10

You who love the LORD, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly ones. Psalm 97:10.

Hate evil! These are such strong words and yet the Bible tells us to have this perspective on evil. We are not to like or love evil. We should not have affinity for or desires towards evil. We are to detest and be in opposition against evil. We are to be repulsed by the things we hate. What we should hate is evil!

In truth we stay away from and reject the the things we hate. We avoid and remove ourselves from people or situations we hate. We protest and fight against the things we find repulsive and sinful….except the sin we love. The sin we hold on to that brings us pleasure. The one that we make exceptions for. Those evil things we hide and fall deeper in love with as we practice them regularly. On occasion we might question the evil we do. Sometimes we are even convicted of those things, but we compromise and never quite develop a hate for them.

This scripture is giving instruction to those who love the LORD. Those who claim to be followers of Christ. The Christians. Psalm 95:15 says, “The LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness (evil) in Him.” How can you claim to love God and not hate evil? The two are in complete conflict. God calls us to separate ourselves from the darkness. In 2 Corinthians 6:14 Paul ask the question, “What fellowship does light have with darkness?” The answer, hanging in the air, there is none. When light shows up, darkness disappears.

Jesus is the light. Maybe the problem is we don’t invite Jesus to show up in the midst of evil. Maybe we have kept Jesus out and so the darkness remains. In fact I would guarantee that is our problem. The trouble is we love our evil more than Jesus and Jesus is pushed aside until we need him.

The flesh and spirit are at war. The lust of the flesh rises up and we don’t resist the devil. We don’t go to God in prayer. We neglect the word of God. We hid our struggle and don’t seek Godly help or counsel.

What we do is make excuses and then compromise. We allow culture to tell us it isn’t evil. We watch programs for entertainment that are evil in His sight. Women in their underwear, men and women having sex, nudity, vulgar talk, and swearing are winked at and the viewing continues. We participate in sexual sins like fornication, adultery, pornography, masturbation, and excusing a wandering eye. The reasons are endless for these sexual sins. None are acceptable to God. They are all evil.

Lying is rampant. We call them white lies or if they are whoppers of a lie we say its for their own good and what they don’t know won’t hurt them. We even allow sports to be our idol. We won’t miss a game but church service is an option. We watch half naked women performing dances that are sexual and seductive and we would never find it acceptable if our female relatives were the ones doing it. When it come to exercising, gyms, and outdoor activities we don’t bat an eye when women are running around in bras for exercising. This is underwear, people! Just because you have become numb and desensitized by culture doesn’t make it less evil.

And the list goes on. Choose your poison. What evil have you excused? What evil do you not hate but enjoy?

It’s time for God children to repent. Start to detox from the sin you have allowed in your life. Become sensitive again to sin. God’s word says, “I will not set anything wicked (worthless) before my eyes. I hate the practice of transgression; it will not cling to me. A devious heart will be for from me; I will not be involved with evil.” Psalm 101:3-4. Start calling evil, “evil.” Remove it from you life and stop making excuses. Find new forms or entertainment, find a new gym, start telling the truth, stop having sex outside of marriage. Ask the Lord to help you become aware of sin you have allowed to creep in and make normal.

So how do we go from enjoying and practicing evil to hating evil? You can’t do it alone. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:41. You need the Holy Spirit, God’s word, accountability, and prayer. Jesus told Peter to “pray so that you won’t enter temptation.” Matt. 26:41. The Bible says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Jesus also told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would be a Counselor and would “convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment.” John 16:8. Lastly, the word tells us “two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” Ecc. 4:9-10.

As you stay in prayer, continue in the word, and allow the Holy Spirit to convict you, you will develop a heart that longs for the things of God. Sin will become repulsive to you. It will be like righteous Lot who was “distressed by the unrestrained behavior of the immoral (for as living among them, that righteous man tormented himself day by day with the lawless deeds he saw and heard).” 2 Peter 2:7-8.

You will Love the Lord and hate evil!