Redefine ‘Love’, ‘Hate’ Into Their Proper Definitions, Through Representing Jesus

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(11) Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (12) Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’ (Colossians 3:11-12)

There is a viral ‘X’ post of the Jumbotron at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show proclaiming, ‘The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love’.  It is a great sentiment and if taken in the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus, it is indeed true.  But the message, unfortunately, was delivered in the context of a theatric demonstration of love for lust, power, and debauchery. 

It is a form of a combination of love, named by the Greeks as ‘Philaguros’ (the love of greed in money and material items) and ‘Thelo’ (the love to be seen, a snobbish and haughty portrayal of self-indulgence).  In the New Testament, these two forms of love are negative and sinful, formed by a reflection of selfish importance, a belief of ‘I, and what I represent, know what’s better for you, and it’s me (or ‘it’s my way or you need to hit the highway)’.  The definition of ‘love’ on the Jumbotron last Sunday is just that, and we find it today in our current discourse in the United States, often in social media and our news. 

The definition of ‘hate’, under the same banner, is ‘what I (or what I represent) hate is something you should hate, because it’s not what I love’; namely if it is not that ‘Philaguros/Thelo’ combination of what the halftime show production and performer calls ‘love’, than it is not proper and it must be ‘hated’.  If it opposes what was presented in those twelve minutes in between the second and third quarters, then it must be despised.  If you don’t agree with the message, then you must also be hated, as well.

So, it comes as no surprise when we then see postings of people placing comments on the death of an actor later in the week, whose death came as a result of cancer and who left behind several children and a grieving wife, celebrating that he died in a manner ‘fitting of someone who he voted for as President’.  The ‘love’ based on such a commentary comes from this position of this representation of selfish, self-imposing false morality of ‘we hate him because he ain’t with us’.  This, unfortunately, is one example in a field full of such examples.

This is seen slightly more on one side of the political/social spectrum than the other, but both sides engage in this behavior and misinterpretation of ‘love’ and ‘hate’.  In Colossians 3:1-17, the Apostle Paul writes to the people of Colossae encouraging them of a similar battle they were undergoing almost two-thousand years ago.  Colossae was a Roman hub of commerce in Asia Minor, in the current nation of Turkey inland just southeast of Istanbul.  This ‘hub’, by Paul’s time, was fading in importance but was still an important center of textiles (namely dyed cloths, threads, and linen), and many traders from many cultures, especially Romans, came here to do business.

The Christians were relatively new to the scene, and likely its church was formed under the mission trips of Paul chronicled under Acts, specifically Acts 19:10 (‘all Jews and Greeks in the region heard the Word of the Lord’).  The problem Paul saw was two-fold, the competition between the pagan philosophies into pleasing the flesh, and the doctrines of Christ and through the worship of Jesus pleasing Him by the service of caring for others.  Paul’s letter to the Colossians, especially in Colossians 3, implores them to live in representation of Jesus, for Jesus and within Jesus and His teachings.

Paul proclaims in Colossians 3:11-12 is that there should be no ‘us versus them’ when it comes to the body of Christ, only those who are in Christ and those who are not.  But the relationship between ‘us’ (the believers) and ‘them’ (the non-believers) is not to be adversarial but one of compassion and patience toward the non-believer, in the hope our example will provide a pathway for them to receive Jesus’ gift of Salvation.

This is the proper definition of love, or from the Greek the proper definitions; ‘Philanthropos’ or a humane kindness toward others, ‘Philadelphos’ or a brotherly, neighborly love, and ‘Agape’ – the overarching love God has for the people, an affectionate, caring love of benevolence.  It is not a negative, selfish connotation but one demonstrated by Jesus on the cross, where he could have called legions of angels down to slaughter the people of Rome and Jerusalem in vengeance of rejecting Him but instead chose to forgive and offer the opportunity to repent and receive Eternal life through His sacrifice.

The proper definition of hate is not to hate the person, but the sinful nature that has enveloped them and bound them.  We do not and should not condone the actions of debauchery witnessed during the halftime show, nor should we condone the vituperative comments of celebrating one’s death.  Both are repulsive and need to be confronted as the evil it represents.  However, the confrontation need not be one of violence or vitriol but one of steadfast adherence to the Truth of the Gospel of Christ, speaking firmly for the benefit of performing the Great Commission, and of course taking actions with one’s purse and time, such as turning off the halftime show or tuning into the ‘alternate’ performance that ended with a Gospel message and invitation to seek Jesus’ Salvation.

The start of ending the debauchery is to return to civility; civil discourse and debate among each other.  We can ‘agree to disagree’ on some points, but we should never run from the position of Truth.  We can do so and remain civil; the only time when we see Jesus get physically angry is in the Temple courtyards, and likely the whipping of the moneychangers out of the courtyard was only done as the last resort.  We can condemn, in civil and Righteous terms, our displeasure over someone’s illicit comments or actions. 

For too long, we have not held people accountable for wrongdoing, and in thinking compromise is ‘love’, it has grown worse.  To be loving and to show kindness to others, it is necessary to let them know their words and actions are wrong.  It is also necessary to give them a path toward redemption, both from a personal and a Spiritual perspective.  As stated by Jesus to Peter in Matthew 18:21-22, forgiveness is to be essentially endless, each time total in its absolution.  Accountability means there should be consequences, but forgiveness is recognizing we all fall short of God’s grace, and we should provide a path of redemption to all.

The slogan, ‘The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love’ is a true statement, but only if ‘hate’, and ‘love’, are properly defined and acted upon.  Love those who may currently think differently or act differently, and hate the sinful acts they perform, but in that love seek the Lord to change them out of their evil covers and into the clothing of Righteousness.