a time to love and a time to hate (Ecclesiastes 3:8a NIV)
As I read this part of verse 8, I must think, "what does this really mean?" One way I have learned to understand difficult passages is to interpret them in light of other passages in the Bible.
There is a time to love causes me no problems. There are times of great joy. Weddings, a birth of a baby, vacations, time spent with family and friends at holidays, baptisms and seeing people trust Christ as Savior and Lord. It is often easy to reach out to others we know and love. It is a "new normal" to reach out to those we don't know as the Holy Spirit transforms our hearts to share the love of Christ. Even though love is time consuming and tiring, it is often something that comes fairly easy for many of us. Of course, there are those who are challenging and hard to love. That's when I have to embrace this scripture when it tells me there is a time to love those people just like I love those who are so easy for me to love and serve.
Now, here is the hardest part of the verse for me, there is a time to hate? What am I suppose to do with this? I remember when my children were young and said they hated something, I would quickly come back at them saying, "We don't hate anyone except the devil because he is God's enemy!" A little simplistic, huh? I need to go back to other scriptures and see what God said he hated and what we should hate. Proverbs 6:16-19 share some things that our Lord hates. Let's give our attention to this passage.
16 There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
It bids well to hate these things. It is important that we hate them so much that we purge them from our own life before we point any fingers at others. I have enough trouble following God's Word in my own life that there is little time for me to point it out in another's life. This is especially true after I purge these things (take off) I am suppose to put on the things that allow me to love others. I notice from Proverbs 6 the things God hates affect every part of a person: eyes, tongue, hands, feet, heart.
I must hate the things that God hates. I need to hate them enough that I consciously take them off so I can put on God's love, grace, faithfulness, truth and other attributes.
How about you? Is there something in this list that needs put off so you are a clean vessel to put on godly character?
Posted with Blogsy