WWJH – Who Would Jesus Hate

Who Would Jesus Hate? Before we answer this question, I think it’s imperative that we define the word “hate” in a Biblically accurate and appropriate context. Typically we reserve the word hate for feelings that extend to the strongest feelings of anger and disgust of something and someone. I’d like to suggest that the best definition is not the inclusions of feelings, but the lack of existence of key behaviors and attitudes that were present in the ministry of Jesus.

Before I jump into this post I’d like the recognize several key people in my realization of what it means to hate. Ok, that could be taken wrong I realize. They taught me what hate was but teaching me what hate is not.

• My wife – for teaching me patience and the ability to think outside of my own desires
• DJ McKnight – for preaching in a way that challenged my self-righteous attitudes
• My parents – for teaching me that my actions, not other people were the cause of anger
• Bruce Evan – for encouraging me to read The Shack, a book that changed my view on being a Christian.

The Pièce de résistance

The next statement may come as a surprise to those that know me the best:

For a long time, I have harbored hatred for a majority of people I encounter.

I sounds horrible I know, and my meaning and purpose in saying it is to bring shock. But I firmly believe that my statement is accurate. But it’s only accurate based on my current definition of what it means to hate someone.

I recently thought of the question “who would Jesus hate”. I pictured myself sitting down with Jesus and asking him this question myself. I imagined myself asking “Jesus, who made you mad? Who would you not feel sorrow for upon hearing of their passing? Who did you hate?” Now, His answers to these questions seem somewhat obvious. It’s amusing to me that for whatever reasons, I made excuses for myself that I could not see Jesus making… and I felt completely justified in the way I felt regarding my fellow man.

I whole heartedly believe that when it comes to understanding the way Jesus thought on Earth, we completely miss the mark. Scriptures refering to “God’s wrath” or His anger, combined with Jesus running through the temple whipping the fool out of money changers have distorted our perception of how Jesus felt about people. The scriptures themselves are not to blame, my motives in applying the scriptures are to blame.

I had to realize that what I felt to be the truth about Jesus had absolutely no vlaue whatsoever, as long as my actions and my beliefs were not in agreement with who He is. As long as I felt justified in devaluing God’s children and His creation, I was making a mockery out of proclaiming to follow Christ’s example.

In examining yourself, be honest with how you feel about the following examples. Do you think/behave this way as well? Are you currently accepting the presence of these actions/thoughts in your life and perversley using the Bible to justify yourself?

• When you are stuck in traffic can you only focus on the way others are in your way? Do you believe the absence of all these people on Earth would make your life easier?
• Do your complaints about humanity include their evil nature, their devaluing of your beliefs, the way their bad decisions constantly affect your life?
• Do you judge fellow Christians and harbor anger or dislikes about them based on struggles that are between them and God (bad parenting, poor financial decisions, irresponsibility, poor attendance)?
• Do you find your political views cause you to dislike someone to the point of being disgusted with them?
• Do you consistently allow the actions of others to dictate your feelings and reactions?
• Would the disappearance of troublesome people from your life be a benefit?

For the most part I have to answer yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes to the preceeding questions. We typically wouldn’t equate the feelings above with hating someone. But I warn you, the reader:

In as much as we do not value a person’s soul above all else, we have essentially allowed ourselves to hate them.

Now, the knee jerk reaction is to argue that there are varying degrees of dislike and agitation with regards to our fellow man. Notice with me however, that God never said “You can serve two masters to a varying degree that adds up to 100%, but if you love one master 100% then you hate the other.” God drew a sharp line for us to cross, with only two options, no shades of gray. If you serve two masters, without fail or question or variation, you will love one and hate the other.

Can we apply this to the idea of hating our fellow man? I’m pretty sure you can. I am convinced that on a daily basis Jesus valued everyone around Him, without fail, by valuing their soul first. Jesus displayed moments of anger and righteous judgement, but if we are to believe He was the Son of God, we have to believe that He never wavered in His desire to see someone’s soul saved.

For a long time I thought of this sort of view point as being weak or a cowards way of avoiding the confrontation that is necessary in “doing God’s will”. Is it possible to confront a person and point out a problem or sin while still valuing their soul above how they wronged you? If not, then take Jesus off the cross, bury Him in the ground and forget about anything special happening three days later. If we insist on harboring these feelings towards God’s children, we attack Him who hung on a cross for our sins.

When I speak badly of a person or make fun of them, or comment on how much they negatively affect my life… I am proclaiming my hatred for them. Can you picture Jesus sitting with Paul and joking about Peter or making fun of James? Did Jesus ever go out to lunch with John after Church and discuss how much better the congregation would be without Judas? Did Jesus ever sit down with one of the Marys and discuss how the other Mary was messing up as a mother? “Mary, you’d never believe how her children act in Sunday school! I’m so glad you don’t parent like her!”

I am being facetious almost to the point of disrespect to drive the point home.

Unless we view the presence of these actions, in our own lives, with disgust, we refuse to truly follow the example of Christ! It’s easy to tout how profound it is to love our neighbors as ourselves in a manner that displays our love for God, while at the same time defaming the name Christian by devaluing everyone around us by our words.

I’m guilty of it, so are you, and it’s a detestable, ugly part of Churches all over the Earth.

I have recently started the process of ending this practice in my own heart, and it is incredibly hard. During the work day it becomes incredibly hard to not speak poorly of someone or what they do and say. Most of what I say can be true! And therein lies the kicker, we are taught that true words come with an inherent protection against being the wrong words.

I am sure Jesus could have said A LOT more than He did about people He encountered and it would have all been true. But I think he realized the division between proclaiming truth for the purpose of soul saving and relating His Father’s will, and proclaiming truth for the purpose of statisfying the impulses of selfishness.

Think on these things everyday. Examine your life and your heart. Look for the existence of inconsitencies with Jesus’ teachings and His life. There are no degrees of how Jesus served God, there was only 100% servitude. We will never reach 100% dedication, but we can refuse to be satisfied with serving a different master when it comes to how we value each other’s souls.