Love, Lust, Hate

When God first brought the Israelites together as a nation He gave them the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, rules of conduct and attitude that God’s people should have first of all towards God, and secondly towards other people. In the New Testament when Jesus was asked what was the greatest command in Mark 12:30, He actually gave two commands, the first concerned our attitude towards God, and the second concerned our attitude towards other people. God’s people are marked by their attitude towards God and their fellow man. The concepts of love, lust and hate, taken together summarize a great deal of those attitudes.

In the header image we see love at the top of the triangle in a setting of blue sky and white fluffy clouds as though it might be a “Heavenly” concept. Of course, it is. The attitude Jesus offered as the greatest command in Mark 12:30 was love. In 1 John 4:8 God is said to be love. God is love.

But what is meant by “love?” The word can have different meanings in different contexts, but I believe it is fairly easy to ascertain what the BIble means by love as the greatest command. In a verse everybody knows, John 3:16, Jesus says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This verse outlines Biblical love that God desires to be a defining characteristic of His people, as it is of Him.

The love that God had for His created beings led Him to sacrifice a precious gift, His only begotten Son. Moreover, He did so willingly. He did it because the object of His love, His created beings had a need He could solve. We learn from this the definition of the Biblical love God desires as a characteristic of His people: the willingness to sacrifice something that is precious to you to satisfy the needs of the object of your love. The object of your love according to Jesus should be both God and your fellow man.

If you won’t do this, you are not fulfilling what Jesus referred to as the first and greatest command. I don’t know how else to interpret the significance of this statement (Mark 12:30-31, Matt. 22:37-40, Deut. 6:5) any other way than to say that those who will not love in this fashion are not fit for an eternity in Heaven with God. Regardless of what else one’s life may consist, leaving love out seems to necessitate the grave situation of Matt. 7:21-23. How often do you, or more to the point, how willing are you to sacrifice something precious, maybe your time, maybe your money (your only son?) for someone else who is in need? This is not a trite question.

At the bottom of the triangle in the header image we find lust and hate. In my earlier years I thought of hate as the opposite of love. As I have aged, I have come to think more of lust as the opposite of love. I have compromised both of those positions with the triangle. They are both in opposition to love, but in different ways. (I am familiar with the concept that the opposite of love is apathy. I don’t agree, but there is no room here to discuss that subject.)

Hate, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. There are things that God hates, Prov. 6:16-19 and other verses. A Christian should hate sin, Romans 12:9. But an attitude of hate towards others, or towards God is sinful because you cannot hate those you should love, Mark 12:30-31. (The Greek word ‘miseo’ in Luke 14:26 is properly interpreted on a comparative basis “to love something less than you love something else,” that is, to love family members less than Jesus, to esteem Jesus higher than family.)

But in this discussion we are considering hate in terms of an attitude towards other people and God. The definition that is called for in this context is to harbor feelings of ill will and, in fact, to exult in the misfortune of others. This is clearly in opposition to the Biblical love God requires of His people, so much so that it needs no elaboration. But note that hate is an attitude as much as it is an action. Love is compassionate in its consideration of others to the extent that it willingly sacrifices much for them. Hate, however, finds its satisfaction in the misfortune of others and rejoices in it.

God both hates and loves. People do the same. God hates sin, but He loves his creation. People should hate sin, but also (to their great shame) can hate other people and even God, Himself. Lust seems to be in a different world. Lust is often mistaken for love, but it is actually diametrically opposed to love. Lust is nowhere to be found in the nature of God. Nor is lust an attitude that people can have toward God. But lust is a great evil that will doom many to an eternity in Hell.

Love asks the question, “How can I use myself to accomplish good for you?” That’s included in the definition. Lust asks the question, “How can I use you to accomplish what I want for me?” That is the very opposite of love. Lust is most often thought of in a sexual context and it is perfectly applicable there. But, unfortunately, lust is not that confined.

Scam artists and con men operate on the basis of lust. They will use the most innocent of people to selfishly achieve personal goals no matter the pain that is caused. Some, trying to rise through the ranks in the business world, will use others to achieve their goals. They may steal the ideas of others and take credit for work that is not theirs. They may “sleep their way to the top.” They may “walk all over” others as they see the opportunity to use them for self-promotion. Politicians may use these same tactics to achieve notoriety and thus powerful offices.

When you willingly take advantage of the work, knowledge, creativity, etc. of others to satisfy your personal pursuits you are acting out of lust as much as when you use them for sexual pleasure. It is important to note that lust is the attitude of wanting to use others as much as it is the action of using others. Your question regarding them is, “How can I use you to get what I want?”

When you willingly sacrifice things of importance to you to help the other person obtain a benefit even if it hurts you in some way, then you are acting out of love. The question of the loving person is, “How can I use myself to benefit you?”

When your goal towards others is to see them suffer some evil to their detriment, you are acting out of hate. Your questions is, “How can I operate to make your life miserable?”

Which of these questions are you asking in your relations with others? There is only one that is acceptable to God, and that one is required by Him.