True Love Hates

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good." - The apostle Paul to the church in Rome (Romans 12:9)

 Hate is such a repulsive emotion.  Rightly do humans shun other humans when they exhibit hateful actions/words/thoughts.  Rightly do non-Christians condemn Christians for spewing hate, and rightly are Christians mocked for purporting to be about love while harboring hate in their hearts. 


However.  True love does have a component of hate in it.  The best analogy I can think of is that of what a parent feels who loves his child and desires the best for said child.  We hopefully never feel hatred for the child itself.  But nor is the feeling of hatred foreign to our emotional toolkit as parents.  We can and do hate negative influences upon them, destructive behavior they engage in, even evil people who harm them.  And we can do so with a righteous and pure anger.  It is not the opposite of love but is rather the fulfillment of love. 

We can disagree about what is negative and destructive and evil.  But we should not be opposed to the notion that true love can and does feel hate.  Love that does not allow for the existence of the abhorrent and that does not vehemently rage against it, for the sake of ourselves, our loved ones, and the most vulnerable among us; that is not love at all.