Title

Hatred Does Not Work

Scripture
He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself; when he speaks kindly, do not believe him . . . though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed...
(Proverbs 26:24-26)
Devotional
We can attempt to cover our feelings, but if our feelings are filled with hatred, that wickedness will eventually be revealed. We cannot hide forever who we really are. As the Bible says in Numbers 32:23, “And be sure your sin will find you out.”(1) Instead of attempting to hide the hatred we may have for something or someone, we need to deal with the hatred. Our text clearly says that it is wickedness. There is only one thing we can legitimately hate, and that is sin and sin’s origin, the Devil. Yet even with hating the devil, he is not to be toyed with. Consider Jude verse 9, “Michael the archangel, in contending with the Devil . . . dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”(2)
Hating someone to the point of bitterness is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to suffer. It just does not work that way.

(1) Numbers 32:23, (2) Jude 1:9