We cannot love God and hate our “enemies” (Matthew 5:43–44). We cannot say we love God and hate our brothers (1 John 4:20–21). “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34 NKJV). If hatred is our default language, if we delight in unleashing a world of iniquity, then the truth of God is not in us, no matter what else we might profess (1 John 2:4).

It’s hard not to hate. Which is exactly what the world wants us to feel. I’m not simply talking about feeling angry (although the two are not unrelated).1 I’m talking the way we’re all being shaped by what we consume and who we listen to. Hatred causes us to feel revulsion and disgust toward others. It reduce people’s identities, and their value, into something lesser. To make everything a matter of division and conflict. Us vs them. Hate your enemies. Don’t seek their best—seek their end.

It’s tempting to write off the rhetoric we see all around us as hyperbole. And without a doubt, social media and, increasingly, all media thrives on hyperbole. But when everything is heightened to the most extreme degree, hyperbole becomes the norm.2

“The Tongue is a Fire…”

Hatred is powerful. It is seductive, a powerful drug that, in the moment, feels good. It is a cheap thrill that fades quickly, and leaves us wanting more. And like any drug, the more we use it, the more we need to feel that same thrill we did at the first, until, finally, it consumes us. Hatred feels good for a moment, but in the end it destroys us.

Christians are not immune to the allure of hatred. We are, after all, human. Sadly, over the last decade—and especially over the last 10 months—many of us have embraced it, particularly in the name of partisan politics. We are quick to divide, resort to name-calling, and demonize those we disagree with.3 Charlie Kirk’s murder has only made this bad situation worse.4 When I look at the rhetoric of Christians online, I can’t help but remember James’s warning…

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