Hatred, The Most Prevalent Sin

"I don't hate him (or her)," we claim. We deny it because it makes us feel better. No one wants to confess to something so ugly as hatred. The evidence says we do hate, but we deny it because we can't possibly admit that we hate another person, even to ourselves. We have deceived ourselves. It happens all the time. I have hated and, most of the time, denied the fact. Isn't that what we do with most sin? We allow sin into our lives but deny it until we are confronted with it by the conviction of the Holy Ghost. So many Christians have become hate addicts, yet so many live in denial, which means they are in the bondage of hate addiction.

What is hatred? Hatred is ill will. It is evil intentions towards another.

You can claim not to hate someone, but that doesn't mean it's true. That anger in your heart that wants bad to happen to another person, yeah, that's hatred. Deny it all you want, but that's what it is. Here's the problem. What you can't confess can't lead to the joy of knowing you are forgiven and thus allow cleansing. Hatred leads to a wide array of other sins and problems because it corrupts your body and your life as long as it goes unconfessed. Only when you face it like an alcoholic faces his addiction like a drug addict meets their need for a fix like a pornographer confesses their addiction to porn or like a fornicator confesses to their immorality can you be delivered. You can't make right what you can't confess. Satan deceives us into thinking it's not hatred when it is. Satan is a liar.

Hatred is ugly. Hatred is that foul desire within you to hurt someone or to see evil befall that person. It is a feeling of vengefulness. Hatred is when you cannot stop thinking about what you don't like in someone. Hatred is evil talk about another person. Hatred is rejoicing when bad befalls another. Please make no mistake about it, my friend. That IS hatred. Another problem with hatred is that you can't have it towards another person and still love God. So not only does hatred create issues in your actions and attitudes towards another person, it alienates you from God. The Bible says that we can claim we love God, but if we have hatred towards our brother, it is a lie, and the truth is not in us. The truth will not be in us until we confess the sin of hatred that is in us. When we acknowledge the sin of hate towards our brother, we can be forgiven and cleansed so that we then can see the fact that we don't love God as we ought.

People who hate someone are more likely to confirm their love for that person and God. They have to say it because they know it's not true.

The Spirit inside tells them they don't love God because they hate their brother but convince themselves they do because they can't stand the horrible and ugly truth. You could share your faith with others with hatred in your heart towards someone and wonder why people are not discovering the wonders of God in the gospel you are sharing. If you hate anyone, you don't love the God about Whom you are speaking. You could sing about loving Jesus and be lying because of hatred towards someone else. There are haters in the church, all over the church, I'm afraid.

I admit that I have hated and thought I still loved God. Some people hurt me, and I allowed it to elicit feelings of ill will (hatred), resentment (hatred), a vengeful spirit (hatred), and a desire to see hurt in their lives (again hatred). When I finally admitted the truth and confessed the sin of my hatred, I saw how my love for God had grown cold. All of those feelings that are signs of hatred cannot go away without the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. But that cleansing power only comes when you confess the truth.

So are you ready to pray to your heavenly Father, "Lord, I confess that I hate __________________"? It's an ugly thing to have to say. It makes you feel pretty dirty. But when you do, you are on your way to the cleansing powers that will transform the way you feel and release you from the bondage you have been living. I challenge you, my friend, to admit the hatred that you have towards that person towards whom you wish ill. Admit what it is, HATRED! Through the sacrament of confession go to God Almighty and make things right by telling Him that you hate that person and keep confessing until you know the cleansing from all that hatred has occurred. You cannot heal yourself from hatred. Only the power of the Lord Jesus Christ can accomplish that, but only after you finally confess to the truth because only when you know the truth can truth make you free.