In yesterday’s post I suggested that, in 1 John 2:9-11, John seems to be saying that a person claiming to be a Christ-follower who hates another Christ-follower is worse than a hater. He or she is a phony.
I can think of several possible responses to that seemingly harsh statement:
- Disagreement – That is just too harsh.
- Denial – I don’t really HATE any brother or sister, I just strongly DISLIKE some of them.
- Definition – Who exactly qualifies as my “brother” or “sister”?
- Dialogue – Let’s talk about this a little more …
I apologize for the preacher-ish alliteration. I try to avoid that for the most part, but sometimes it just fits.
So, let me do the 4th by addressing the first 3:
- Too harsh? Let’s look again: “The one who SAYS he is in the Light and yet hates his brother IS in the darkness until now … the one who hates his brother IS in the darkness and WALKS in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” [emphasis mine] I will stipulate that “phony” is my word, not John’s. So, you are free to insert your own word for one who SAYS he is one thing, but IS something else.
- Not hate, but dislike? Do you know that the concept of liking/disliking is not found in the Bible? The word “dislike” is not there at all. The word “like” appears over 1500 times, but it never refers to having a fondness for something. It only refers to being similar to something. Those terms are OURS, not the Bible’s. So, is that really the loophole we think it is?
- Who is my brother? This sounds a little bit like the “expert in the law” in Luke 10 who knew the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” but wanted to justify his own actions by asking, “And who is my neighbor?” So, Jesus told the parable of the “Good Samaritan” and changed the question. Instead of “who is my neighbor,” Jesus asked, “who needs a neighbor?” Perhaps, instead of asking who we HAVE to love, we should ask who NEEDS to be loved.
I will wrap up this discussion tomorrow with some practical tips for eliminatin’ hatin’ in the family of God.
Stay tuned …
