”Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 97:10New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 97:10 Devotion
Those who love the LORD hate evil
Psalm 97:10 says that “Those who love the Lord hate evil“. And the reverse is true.
Loving God and hating evil
Nevertheless, we are instructed to love the Lord with our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Luke 10:27). But this is a positive way of loving the Lord.
Therefore, we can express our love for God in a negative way as well. And this is by hating what God hates, that is, evil (Amos 5:15 and Romans 12:9). For hating evil means being completely intolerant of the same to the last highest degree.
Moreover, Psalm 97:2 says that “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [God’s] throne”. Therefore, unrighteousness and injustice are contrary to His nature. Consequently, they are evil.
Additionally, Psalm 97:10 tells us that the Lord “protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked”. Therefore, concern for the well-being of the godly and opposition to wickedness are good and right. And the converse is of course evil.
Evil
Evil and its promotion can be witnessed all around us in many different forms. In fact, the world does not see evil as evil, but as good, fun, and entertaining. People actually feel that they can do whatever they want, how they want, and when they want.
Consequently, the entertainment industry, entertainers, and books promote evil and evil deeds as acceptable and good. This means that evil is camouflaged behind the entertaining content, making light of the bad and evil things.
But, loving evil (friendship with the world) is enmity with God (James 4:4). And when you love evil, you will put yourself in harm’s way.
Hating evil
Specifically, the Psalmist encourages those who love God to hate evil – Proverbs 8:13 says that “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil”. And God instructs us over and over again in His Word to hate evil (Amos 5:15). That’s why as a Christian, you need to constantly study the Word of God and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit for the biblical stand on every issue (John 14:26).
Therefore, the Holy Spirit protects those who love Him from evil and its effects. And we, in our daily prayers, ask God to keep us away from evil (Matthew 6:13).
Moreover, you and I are not meant to conform to the evil of this world as Paul commands in Romans 12:1-2. For Jesus Christ came and died to remove all sin and evil from the life of every person who would believe in Him (John 3:16 and 1 John 3:8).
This, therefore, called upon each and everyone to follow Jesus as a way of shunning evil just like King David did (Psalm 101:3). And this means that turning back to evil is actually denying Christ.
Therefore, do not allow yourself to go back into sin or entertain sin. But hate all evil, in every form, and flee it. And you don’t need to fear the promoters of evil because God will guard you against them and deliver you from them.
Prayer/Blessing
Father, you have instructed me to have evil. I pray that you help me be intolerant of the same. This is my prayer in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
John 19-21 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
