Jim Langley: The Love Hate Phenomena | Homes & Lifestyle

We’ve certainly all witnessed the violence and hatred that’s engulfing this world in recent years. Hate has been with us from the beginning of time, but love was there first.

The Love Hate Phenomena has been addressed by many psychologists over the past few centuries, but I’d prefer to look at the relationship of these two diametrically opposed emotions from Scripture. God’s Word deals with the subject in depth.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-6, the Apostle Paul describes what love is and what it is not: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude , it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

What we can learn from these three verses is quite a bit about human nature. Humankind has a tendency to not love, but to seek self-interests.

Our sin nature started with our knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden a long time ago and it will remain with us until the return of Christ the Messiah.

We are made in God’s image and our Creator, throughout scripture, demonstrates His immense love for His creation as well as His hatred for the evil that is inherent in humankind.

In 1 John 3:1, we are promised “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

In other words, until we trust in Christ, we cannot see His beauty, and His plan to rekindle that most intimate relationship with His creation that was severed in the Garden of Eden.

Some of you out there reading this may well be ambivalent to the Creator of the Universe. Others cling to stories found in Scripture that paint Him as a God of wrath misunderstanding His actions are always to destroy the prevalent evil that consumes his world. Yet, Throughout the Book of Psalms we can read of the love of God.

Listen to these words of King David found in Psalm 21:7-10: “For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. At the time of your appearing, you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the Lord will swallow them up; and his fire will consume them. You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind.”

You see, our Heavenly Father cares about all His children so much that His angels will certainly protect us from the evil and hatred in this present world. Then again, He allows evil and hatred to exist trusting that His children will draw near to Him as we experience Satan’s attacks on all we cherish.

These are difficult times and we must remember what Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble.” And then promises, “But take heart! I have overcome the world!”

Let’s return to 1 Corinthians 13:7 where we are instructed “It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” And Paul concludes in verse 8a “Love never fails.”

Jesus is that love and we are the instruments assigned to present God’s love to a lost world!

Passages to Ponder

» Genesis 3:22-23

» Psalm 97:10

» Proverbs 8:13

» John 15:18-21

» 1 John 2:9-11

— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at [email protected] for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.