Matthew 5:43-45, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Please don't ever listen to any preacher who says we should hate anybody! We ought not even hate the Devil. Psalms 97:10 commands every believer to HATE EVIL, but never people. The hallmark character trait of a child of God is that he loves everybody. And if a professed believer spews hatred toward others, something is wrong with their faith or walk with God.
I decided a very long time ago that I am going to love everybody, regardless of how they treat me. Sadly, the most hateful people I know are the Bob Jones University gang. Search the internet and you will find many articles about abuse, rape, blaming victims, hate, bigotry, racism and a spirit of thug authoritarian in the Bob Jones camp. That is not God's love. I love people. I don't want to be a snob like the BJU graduates at Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. I thank God for His blessings in my life. Pastor Jack Hyles said it best:
“I believe any man in this world, can love any other man in this world, if he thinks right! The reason you hate is because you think hate. The reason you love is because you think love.” —Dr. Jack Hyles, a quote from the excellent MP3 sermon, “What The Law Could Not Do” (July 5, 1987 - First Baptist Church of Hammond, PM service)
You can tell who truly walks with God, and who merely plays the game of church, by how they treat those whom they don't like. They don't like me at Harvest Baptist Church on Guam, so they ostracize me as hateful religious people do. That is so horrible. Well, I have never stopped loving them, and I never will. My God is bigger than their selfishness, pride and love for money at Harvest. They cannot stop me from loving. I love everyone. Jesus is precious!
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