They Hate God

It was a small community, and maybe that was the difference, but I grew up in a place where we all shared basic values. The three large churches each believed their doctrines were correct, but none of us doubted we worshipped the same God. There was little difference in what the three churches taught and what they practiced.

It was the rare person that did not attend church. Even teachers quoted scripture. We all viewed the Bible as the Word of God. We prayed together before school and ball games without the slightest doubt that the other people in the crowd loved the God of the Bible.

To say those things now almost sounds like it was a foreign country.

I say that because so much has changed. And the change is not superficial-it is at the core of what we are as human beings.

I confess that the very idea that a man, any man, might hate God is beyond comprehension. I've known atheists who were nice folks. They did not hate God,blind to obvious truths. But could there be a person so obtuse that he "hates" God?!

But then I don't understand how a mother would raise her child to become a suicide terrorist.

When the Apostle Paul wrote about people who are violent, proud and "haters of God" (Romans 1:30) it seems to me that Paul lived in a different world. But King David wrote in the Psalms "Let those also who hate Him flee before Him" (Psalm 68:1). So David lived in a world similar to that of the Apostle Paul.

How do you explain hate? Hatred for the country that has provided freedom, safety and wealth-and hatred of God.

The evidence is overwhelming that such people live and breathe among us now. I just don't understand how they can hate the One who gives them air-and I never met them until the world changed. Now they are legion and they seem to be increasing.

Welcome to the world of Paul, David and Abraham. Just remember, that was the world that murdered the Savior of mankind. They did it because they hated God.

Maybe in their own twisted minds such people don't actually think they hate God. Could they be so consumed with vanity that they think they know more than God? Do they think they are more righteous than God?

The battle against giving way to hate must be fought by every man. Solomon said it best, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." (Proverbs 4:23 NIV) Every action of a man in this life flows from his heart! The man who heeds the advice to guard his heart from such a wicked emotion as hate can find salvation-and live a happy life in the process.

Until next time,