is it ever right to hate?

No doubt the hallmark of a Christian is love.  Jesus said,

John 13:34–35 NKJV   34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Understanding that important truth, however, does not answer the question raised in the title, “Is it ever right to hate?”  I think a lot of Christians might be surprised by the biblical answer.

Yes, at times it is right to hate!  Consider these words of wisdom from the Spirit:

​Proverbs 1:7 NKJV   The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 8:13 NKJV   The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.

Follow the logic of the above verses of Scripture.

The beginning of knowledge is to fear the Lord.

• “Fear the Lord” means to have a reverential awe of God.
• Wisdom is the practical living of knowledge.

Proverbs 8:13 says that a proper awe of God leads a person to hate evil.

Then God mentions some evil things He hates: pride, arrogance, walking the evil path, and talking perversely.

The essence of these truths is that God wants us to love all that He loves and to hate those things He hates.  He wants our affections to be identical to His.

What has that to do with God´s goals in our difficulty?  It leads us to the fifth goal that God sometimes has for sending adversity or allowing us to go through it.

​TO BUILD A HATRED FOR EVIL
Times of difficulty have a way of clarifying things.  Our vision is less obscured by the busyness of things.  We take more time to think through decisions. We are less susceptible to many enticements.

• God does not want us to hate the evil doer.

John 3:16 NKJV   For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
2 Peter 3:9 NKJV   The Lord is … not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
God´s attitude toward the evil doer is not hatred, but love that desires that the sinner repent.  Praise God for this because God loved us when we were nothing but sinners!  So, if we grow to share the affections of God, we will not hate sinners but desire their salvation.

• God does want us to hate sin.

It is easy to hate some sin: murder, perversion, idolatry, stealing, abuse. It is not as easy to hate other sins: gossip, pride, envy, lust, lack of contentment, a critical spirit, contentiousness, dishonesty, greed, selfishness.

• God especially wants us to build a hatred for our own sins.

Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV   7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

• He wants us to see the cost of sin in our own lives.
• He wants us to see the cost of sin in the lives of others.

 When David walked on the balcony and saw Bathsheba, and then lingered to let lust take hold, he did not stop to consider the cost his sin would bring either to himself or to others.  His lustful gaze turned into adultery which led to murder.  David himself paid a four-fold consequence for his iniquity. David´s family also paid a price, and the nation suffered harm.
 
All of our sin, even in the life of a Christian, produces a cost to ourselves and others, even though we are forgiven.
 
Sometimes God´s goal in allowing us to walk a difficult road is to give us time for fresh consideration, contemplation, and self-examination – all aimed at helping us love that which He loves and hating that which He hates.