The Right Response To Hate

Sometimes, the people who we love the most are the people who hate us the most. A normal human reaction to that is hate. However, God doesn't want us to hate them. Rather, He wants us to show them the love of Christ and pray for them. There is no one, no matter how bad, that prayer cannot change. Let us see something important in the book of Psalms.

Ps. 109:4 (NKJV)

In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer.

Ps. 109:4 (GW)

In return for my love, they accuse. me, but I pray for them.

Ps. 109:4 (BBE)

For my love they give me back hate, but I have given myself to prayer

Ps. 109:4 (NIRV)

They bring charges against me, even though I love them and pray for them.

I deliberately quoted different translations of Psalms 109:4 for the sake of clarity. In it, David shares his experience and lets us know that all wicked people gave back in return for his love towards them were accusations and deep hatred. However, he did not let their hate consume him. Rather, he chose to love and pray for them. Friend, are you surrounded by wicked and deceitful people who love rewarding your good with evil? One thing I want you to know is that you are not alone because God is with you and He understands how you feel. You don't have to hate or wish people that wish those people evil back. Jesus says you should love them and pray for them. Matthew 5, makes contributes to this message:

Matt. 5:44 (NKJV)

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless, those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

In the above scripture, Jesus lays down some important things that will always make us victorious in a wicked world full of hate and cruelty.

1. Love your enemies
2. Bless those who curse you.
3. Do good to those who hate you.
4. Pray for those who spitefully use you
5. Pray for those who persecute you

This response to hate against us is not the rational human response, but it is how God wants us to live and how we can claim victory over the hate present against us. In the next post in this series, we will discuss each of these points in depth. Victory is yours in Jesus’ name! To be continued...