WWJH

What Would Jesus Hate?  Before your knee jerks, try the thought out for a moment.  

I googled "what does Jesus hate"?  This seems to be an area that interests a lot of people.  I read one woman's post who said, "Jesus is not a hater."  I've never been able to figure out what a "hater" is exactly. 
The best I've been able to come up with is that it's a form of ad hominem attack.  Here's how it works:

"I don't like cabbage."

"Who cares?  You hate everything.  You're just a hater."

The subtext is, "Since you're just a hater,  what you say has no legitimacy" - especially but not exclusively the part about cabbage.  I'm not such a fan of this particular new word.  I think we have too many dehumanizing words and concepts as it is.  We don't need new ones.  And I say that even though I do in fact like cabbage.

Another poster took to listing all the things that either God or Jesus said he hated as taken from the bible.  Hypocrisy was a recurring theme but there were a good many others as well.  So maybe we can conclude that God is a hater.  At least he's capable of hate.  Here's a cut/paste example:

Rev 2:6,15 "But this you have, that you hate the DEEDS (WORKS) of the Nicolaitans [those who lord it over & rule over the laity, the brethren], which I [Jesus] also HATE. Thus you also have those [among you] who HOLD THE DOCTRINE (teaching) of the Nicolaitans, which thing I [Jesus] HATE. [example Diotrephes vs. Demetrius in 3Jn 10-13]

The amplified text here makes this a little hard to read, but in these selections (there were many many more)  it does look like Jesus does in fact hate something or the other.  In fact from this latter post I think it's safe to say that Jesus does have the ability to hate as an attribute.  Clearly a Nicolaitan is something he hates.

Here's the thing in a nutshell:  We project our wishes of what good is onto the reality of Jesus.  Jesus was and is both God and a real person.  He doesn't have a dark side.  We do though and consequently our concept of hate and some other things as well becomes mixed and confused with our brokenness.  Given the choice, I'd rather chase after Jesus' version of what good is than to make one up that I project back onto him. 

If we're going to live in love with Jesus, as opposed to being in love with a projection of our wish fulfillment, tastes and sensibilities, we have to accept him (and the other two members of the Godhead as well)  for who they are, not for who we think they are or worse, who we want them to be.  This takes time, quiet and intention...and I think a bit of humility and courage as well.  Thankfully, God will supply all of this in abundance if asked...persistently. 

I quoted a woman above as saying "Jesus is not a hater."  As I think I understand the word, he's not.  However, I do think that there are things that Jesus hates.  And I think it's a good idea to get comfortable with the concept that God can make us or let us be uncomfortable, sometimes even very uncomfortable either for our own good or for the good of others.  

I'll take it one step further.  I usually do.  Our reactions to words like hate or anger have more to do with our projections of what these words stand for than what words like these really are at core.  Consequently, these types of words become the vehicles that carry our brokenness inside them.  Naturally we think they're intrinsically bad because, "self-esteem" not with standing (another misunderstood concept) we are all dubious about the goodness of our core natures.  Deep down, we know we're broken.

My mission in life has become to accept God for who he is and what he has for me. To know God, I have to let go of me...even if I have to let God pry my fingers loose.