We’re nearing the end of our Sunday morning summer class entitled “An Expose on the Devil.” For the most part, I’ve enjoyed the studies, but as with any class, there are always things left unsaid and ideas left unexplored. Here’s one such idea…
“Don’t hate,” we tell kids. Have you ever had a child respond to that with this question: “What about the Devil? Shouldn’t we hate him?”
That’s a good question, especially when it comes from the simple mind of a child. What’s the answer? I think my reply would be something like this: The Devil doesn’t need me to hate him, mock him, or slander him. Likewise, God doesn’t command me to hate him, mock him, or slander him. Satan is not like the sinners of the world, whom God compels us to love so that we might reach them, or others like them, with the Gospel. Satan cannot be reached. He cannot be saved. Furthermore, Satan, by nature, is inherently bad: He doesn’t have a good name that we might disparage with hatred, nor is he made in the image of God, (and it is God who takes offense when we hate the children He made in that image). That doesn’t mean we should feel okay to hate him. Instead, we should probably try to limit our thoughts about him, all the way around.
The Bible says little of the Devil, but when it does speak of him, it always takes him seriously. The Bible calls Satan a liar, a lion, and a thief, among other things. The Bible does not talk about hating Satan. There are “things” God hates (Proverbs 6), but nowhere in the Bible do we read of the hatred of the Lord (in the way that we use the word) being given to those who do those things, or to the deceiver who led them into those things. I think it’d be best to keep Satan’s name out of our mouths entirely, except to warn others of his pernicious ways. Instead of hating him, don’t think about him at all, except to be aware of those times when he is tempting you away from God who loves you.
~Matthew
PS: Don’t forget that, at the end of September, we will enjoy our Family Day weekend Gospel Meeting with Barry Grider. Be here on Friday evening, September 26th, at 7pm, as well as Saturday evening, September 27th, at 7pm to hear two excellent lessons from God’s Word, both in the lead-up to our big Family Day Sunday on September 28th.