2.23.2007

He Hate Me

What should our attitude be towards the Devil? Lesley noticed that a song on one of Karis' CD's speaks of learning to hate the Devil and this made us wonder. I'm not sure what to think yet, but I lean towards no.

Here are some thoughts either way:

1. We ought to hate the Devil. (thanks to Jason for a lot of these)
a. Gen. 3:15 God says to the serpent, "... and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers." This seems to say that God puts hatred between us and the Devil. (Thanks to Jason for this one)
b. Jn. 8:44 says there is *no* truth in him, but rather he is all lies, and we should hate lies and love the truth.
c. The Devil is *strongly* associated with sin (1 Jn. 3:8). He is the one who attempts to take us away from God, or to love other things above God Himself and is beyond reconcilliation.
d. We are at least depicted as at war with him elsewhere (Ephesians 6:11).
e. We are to resist (Jas 4:7) the Devil.

2. We ought not to hate the Devil.
a. It is hard to see God commanding us to hate any person.
b. We can hate evil, but we are called to love individuals -- even enemies and those that persecute (Mt. 5:44). This fits the Devil particularly well.
c. The Devil is not essentially evil. He was not always evil and he is not the opposite of God.
d. God is a God of love.

So, I would be interested to hear what others think. Also, how do you think Jesus' reactions to being tempted by the Devil fit in? Did he show hatred to the Devil?