Hate Without a Cause

Scripture:
Those who hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.
Psalm 69:4

Observation: This is a theme in David's psalms ... that there are those who hate him without cause. This was due to Saul's insane jealousy. It is also a metaphor for Jesus, the Messiah whom the Jewish leaders ultimately had put to death. He had done nothing to them and one nothing wrong, and yet the price of sin was laid on him.

This sin - that there are those who hate "without a cause" and thus inflict pain on specific individuals for no reason - is strong in society still. We see it in the race issues of our time. We see young men treated differently, sometimes to the point of death, for no reason other than their skin color. We then see mobs assemble and attack those in authority, and private property on innocent people, for no reason other than to destroy out of their anger. Mankind invents enemies of each other, then exacts repayment for perceived losses from those who have stolen nothing.

Application: If Jesus' death was the result of a this sinful act of hating without cause, and if that is clearly a wrong that was experienced by both David and by all of us today, then this speaks to exactly why the Church is called out differently. We are simply ... not to hate, for any reason. Jesus commands us to love each other in the body of Christ, and this begins by not hating anyone, and especially those with whom there is no cause.

This is all I see right now ... people blowing up in anger toward total strangers whom they could not possibly have a quarrel. This tide flows both ways; in all directions. And this issue is not new, it is not unique to the United States, and it is not the will of God.

Prayer: Lord, we have this day our plagues, or natural disasters, our fearful hornets, our race wars. Please, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.