The times we are living in are remarkable indeed. It is difficult for those of us who have a “biblical worldview” to conceive of the mindset we see about us these days and hear reflected in the speeches and deliberations of our peers. Only one aspect of that mindset interests us at this point, though, and that is the thinking which states that God cannot or will not hate anything or anyone. It seems that they have bought into the notion that God is love (1 John 4:8) so thoroughly that they cannot envisage God also possessing the capacity for hatred.

It appears that they have concluded that love and hatred are so completely at odds with one another that they cannot mutually co-exist either in the real world or in the nature of God. Quite frankly, however, this conclusion is in no sense either logical or real in understanding the nature of deity as set forth in the biblical tradition or on the level of ordinary human experience. For example, Jesus said that it was possible for me to love my neighbor and at the same time hate my enemy (Matt. 5:43). He said that I should not do that, but instead ought to make an earnest effort even to love my enemies. But the two ideas are not mutually exclusive. I could love my wife and children and at the same time hate my mortal enemies. Both of those sympathies would fit inside my brain at the same point in time. They are not mutually exclusive in any sense of the word.

So, this leaves us with the question whether love and hate may co-exist in the mind of God or not. We know that the two can reside in the same human brain, but can they be present in the mind of God beside one another without the one pushing the other out altogether? We shall allow the biblical text to speak for itself on the matter. Romans 9:13 quotes the Lord’s sentiment regarding the two patriarchs Jacob and Esau from Malachi 1:3, when he said, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” God loved one of these men on account of his attitudes and actions, while at the same time hating the other for his attitudes and actions. It is not that Jacob was a perfect man, for he was not so. Or that Esau was entirely evil, for he was not so either. But in regard to certain choices the two made originally, and then subsequent choices made by their descendants, they either showed respect for God or else failed to do so. And for that reason, God either loved them or hated them and their sinful ways. The former he had drawn closer to him, and the latter he had pushed away from him. Their attitudes and actions had determined which one was the case with them. God was not playing favorites. He was honoring their choices.

The secret to understanding this concept is stated frequently in Holy Scripture. God despises certain behaviors and actions on the part of human beings and if we decide to participate in those behaviors or else commit those actions (Deut. 12:31; 16:22; Isaiah 61:8; Zech. 8:17; Rev. 2:6), we will be despised on that account (Psalm 5:5; 11:5; Proverbs 6:16).

To be direct, it is no different with us. I have heard parents tell of rebellious children whom they loved with all of their hearts, and at first would gladly have given up their lives for them, but eventually in their frustration with them and their hateful ways, they came to despise the very thought of them. Their exasperation with their wicked ways had turned their love to hatred! They wanted no more to do with them and hoped never to see them again – unless they changed their hearts and mended their ways. It is no different with God and his sometimes spiteful and rebellious children. Until their hearts are broken and they change their ways, he wants nothing to do with them.

So, we have a choice on our part. We may decide to do those things that God hates, and ultimately he will come to despise us for our attitudes and actions, or else we have the capacity to conform our lives to his will and draw ever closer to him in order to bask in his love throughout life, and ultimately in eternity also. But do not be deceived by the notion that God cannot ever be brought to hate the very sight of you. He can and he will if you fail to return his love.