Hate evil, you who love the LORD, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones; and give thanks to His holy name.
I have observed that, when it comes to making a point, when argued at extremes, we generally miss the point. Usually it's extremes that get us off balance and into danger. On the entertainment side, we have what are called "extreme sports", which means they're dangerous; and people flock to these events. On the political side, we deal with extreme movements that appeal to the masses. In the religious realm, we have radicals who are called "terrorists" or "extremists", and they generate a following of like-minded zealots. Needless to say, these extremes have created much harm and hurt. Bent on taking their cause to extremes, their passion is more important than compassion, becoming the very evil they denounce. Evil! That's the word we need to key in on. The Psalmist says "Hate evil, you who love the LORD". Evil is anything that advances a cause by either removing God or using God to achieve any given end, something which both politics and religion have effectively done down through the ages. This is the heart at pitch black, and, for those who truly love the LORD, there is a deep hatred for it. Out of its belly comes corruption, oppression, slavery, murder, abuse of children, abuse of women, and abuse of the poor. A pure love for God will bring a pure hatred of evil, and this evil we must confront with passion, but only within the checks and balances of love. As we swim in this love, we are kept from the very thing that leads to evil, which, as we noted, is advancing a cause (any cause) by either removing God or using God to achieve any given end. That's a poison that will kill the soul, and many evangelicals have swallowed this poison. God's great concern is to protect our souls from being poisoned with the very poison we hate.
I have observed that, when it comes to making a point, when argued at extremes, we generally miss the point. Usually it's extremes that get us off balance and into danger. On the entertainment side, we have what are called "extreme sports", which means they're dangerous; and people flock to these events. On the political side, we deal with extreme movements that appeal to the masses. In the religious realm, we have radicals who are called "terrorists" or "extremists", and they generate a following of like-minded zealots. Needless to say, these extremes have created much harm and hurt. Bent on taking their cause to extremes, their passion is more important than compassion, becoming the very evil they denounce. Evil! That's the word we need to key in on. The Psalmist says "Hate evil, you who love the LORD". Evil is anything that advances a cause by either removing God or using God to achieve any given end, something which both politics and religion have effectively done down through the ages. This is the heart at pitch black, and, for those who truly love the LORD, there is a deep hatred for it. Out of its belly comes corruption, oppression, slavery, murder, abuse of children, abuse of women, and abuse of the poor. A pure love for God will bring a pure hatred of evil, and this evil we must confront with passion, but only within the checks and balances of love. As we swim in this love, we are kept from the very thing that leads to evil, which, as we noted, is advancing a cause (any cause) by either removing God or using God to achieve any given end. That's a poison that will kill the soul, and many evangelicals have swallowed this poison. God's great concern is to protect our souls from being poisoned with the very poison we hate.
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