Blog
»
Hate Evil People?
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
I do not spend time with liars,
nor do I make friends with those who hide their sin.
I hate the company of evil people,
and I won’t sit with the wicked.
Psalm 26:4-5 (NCV)
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
I do not spend time with liars,
nor do I make friends with those who hide their sin.
I hate the company of evil people,
and I won’t sit with the wicked.
Psalm 26:4-5 (NCV)
It’s
obvious to Christ followers that Jesus changed the Old Testament idea that
believers should stay clear of sinners and even hate them.
Jesus was constantly getting himself in trouble because he would hang out
with “sinners”. How then can a Christian find value in the
passage above and others like it?
There
are several problems involved.
We all know that it’s smart to choose your friends wisely.
The apostle Paul reminds us that bad company corrupts.
A second question arises.
How is a believer supposed to behave in the presence of very bad people?
In particular how are we to behave in the presence of very bad people who
are rich and powerful and from whom we can benefit if we simply make the most of
our relationship with them?
It
seems to me that it would require an extremely high and strong character to be
able to hold onto one’s faith in the presence of, for example, a powerful,
wealthy , but corrupt boss who can pay handsomely for loyalty to him.
Many there are who sell out, even in little ways, rationalizing
compromises, looking the other way, tacitly participating in his corruption.
Maybe
the psalmist has wisdom that we need to hear.
No we are not to hate evil people, but it can be a really good idea to
avoid them, not because we are ‘too good' for them, as CS Lewis has written,
but “because we are not good enough.
We are not good enough to cope with the temptations”
We are tempted to connive, laugh at the wrong jokes, and 'consent' when
the opposite would be required of a believer.
There is no easy answer to this because the salt of the world must not
stay in the saltshaker, yet it must remain salty.
“Lord,
I do want to be among those who choose to be among your enemies.
Help me to love them in such a way that You rub off on them at the same
time that my 'saltiness’
remains salty.
Amen”
For
more:
follow on Twitter @jefflampl
Philip was directed to go to a desert in Acts 8.
ReplyDeleteSometimes God opens a door of opportunity to his ministers in very unlikely places. We should study to do good to those we come into company with.
As to those of whom we know nothing else, we know this, that they have souls.