Hate One Another?

If God commands us to love one another, then why did He hate?

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” - Malachi 1:2-3

And why did Jesus tell us that we cannot become one of His disciples unless we hate our relatives?

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:26

A conflict in the Bible? No. But there is definitely something being lost in the translation.

Let's open up an interlinear Bible and find out exactly what the word "hate" really meant back then.

Hate - OT Hebrew = shnathi - "hated, rejected."

Hate - NT Greek = misei - "to love someone less."

Interesting. And just to be clear, God DOES hate things.

"There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." - Proverbs 6:16-19

So, it's actually the New Testament translation of the Greek that's a little misleading. Luke 14 should actually read something like this:

“If anyone comes to me and does not like father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters less - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:26

Jesus really wants us to love HIM more than we love others, or even ourselves. THEN we can become His disciples.

Now that THAT is straightened out, the question becomes "Do we?" Do we really love Jesus more than we love our friends and family? More than we love ourselves?

Ouch.

Do we skip worship because we're "on vacation," or we "have to work?" Do we honor God by living our lives for Him?

We don't want to be rejected by God or even loved less by Him. We need to "examine ourselves. Are we really and truly Christians?

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" - 2 Corinthians 13:5