My dear friends, I am not writing to give you a new commandment. It is the same one you were first given, and it is the message you heard.
But it really is a new commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does. You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already shining.
If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don't cause problems for them.
If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don't know where we are going, because we can't see in the dark.
1 John 2:7-11
How many people can we hate and still not be walking in the dark? The Bible is very clear that we cannot hate anyone while we are in the light. We must step into the darkness in order to hate.
So if you were Satan how would you attack the people of God? Provoking hatred in the followers of Jesus would take them out of the light and put them into stumbling darkness!
So when you are attacked, misused or even abused how should you respond? First, you must recognize that if you return evil for evil you will step out of the light into darkness. God does the judging and the punishing. We have not been called to those roles in the lives of others. Our job is to love them and bring them the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Remember that Jesus asked God to forgive His executioners.
So when you hear of some wicked and evil person and you are tempted to hate that man because of his evil deeds, stop and remember that you have a choice. You can step into the darkness and hate or stand firm in the light and love. There are no other options.
The subtle temptation is to hate the wicked man while not doing him any harm. Then you can hold on to your own righteousness because you didn't "do" anything wrong. But there you will be believing that you righteous but filled with hate, while standing in and stumbling around in the dark.
One quick way to improve your walk with Jesus is to get rid of all the hate. Make a prayer list of all the people you know who are wicked and sincerely pray that God will bless them. You will be amazed at how much brighter the light will be on your path!
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