A Check on Hate--The opposite affection to love is hate. Hate is a valid affection; we must not think that because hate and love are opposing affections that they necessarily cancel one out.

The Rule of Law: Government of the Heart (4)

The Law is designed to bridle our tendency to hate wrongly.

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart…” Leviticus 19.17

The opposite affection to love is hate. Hate is a valid affection; we must not think that because hate and love are opposing affections that they necessarily cancel one out. We must learn to love what God commands us to love and to hate what He commands us to hate. For example, God commands us to hate sin and therefore we must train this affection to that focus, according to the Law’s definition of sin.

Hate is a powerful aversive affection, and it can engender other powerful affections – such as anger, vengefulness, and malice – which, unchecked, can lead to sin. Thus the Law of God speaks directly to the proper use of this powerful affection: We must not hate our neighbors. Whenever, resting the presence of God’s searching Spirit, we sense the presence of hate in our hearts, as indicated by any of its attendant affections, we must examine our hearts to make sure that hate is not improperly focused but is being put to its God-intended use.

The Law not only warns us against hate, it actually structures relationships in order to guide us in how to keep hate in check. Instead of hating a neighbor who has slighted us, we need to talk with him, explaining our upset, seeking clarification and, where necessary, redress (Lev. 19.17, 18). Moreover, we must not allow hate and anger at some injury done to a loved one to lead us to seek revenge unjustly against perpetrators. The cities of refuge in ancient Israel were established to allow for affections to “cool down” while incidents could be investigated and justice pursued in a decent and orderly manner. The various elements of retributive justice, which could include capital punishment, were also intended, not only to increase fear of God, but to inculcate hatred of sin and its consequences.

The Law of God thus reminds us that, as valid as hate is as an affection, it must be made to serve its proper function and not be allowed to override the demands of love for God and neighbors. Whenever we sense the presence of hate in our hearts, we must turn to God’s Law and Word in order to make sure that our hatred is properly ordered and reflects the hate which God Himself sustains against all evil.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.