Love God, Hate Evil - Daily Devotional June 8th, 2010

Bible Reading - Deuteronomy 12, Psalm 97-98, Isaiah 40, Revelation 10

Love God, Hate Evil

Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

Although this specific scripture is in fact talking about not loving money more than God, there is a principle here that holds true in every area of life. That principle is simply this, you can not serve two different things/people. The thing with being a servant is that you begin to take on the personality of the master and you begin to have the same habits and loves as your master. You can tell who the servant's master is just by observing their behavior and of course by watching who they are actually bringing service to.

It is funny to me that people say they love God and call themselves a Christ follower but yet as you observe their behavior nothing really about it says, "hey I am serving God". If you have to continually say over and over again, "I am a Christian", than you probably are not. You are probably just trying to convince yourself and those around you that you are. I mean think about it, I do not have to go around telling my wife or those around me, "hey I am her (Katie's) husband". People know I am her husband by the way we interact with one another.

If you are a true Christ follower then it is obvious, you Love God and you hate evil. Look at Psalm 97:10a, "O you who love the LORD, hate evil!" This is a statement that says, If you love the Lord than you hate evil!" I know too many people that do lip service by saying they love God but yet when you observe their life you would not be able to tell them apart from the rest of the world. They are at the same places getting drunk on the same alcohol, they are watching the same shows/movies with no regard to morals, they are pursuing the same relationships in the same ways, they are making money through dishonest gain, they are telling the same lies, gossiping about the same people, holding the same bitterness and resentment in their heart, and the list goes on. They are serving themselves but they are not serving God and it is seen in their love for evil rather than for God.

You see if we truly love God we have a deep hatred for evil. What does your service say today? If people spent a week with you and were able to watch your interactions with people and your all around behavior would they walk away saying, "That person Loves God and hates evil". After all, the two go hand in hand.

Tomorrows Bible Reading - Deuteronomy 13-14, Psalm 99-100, Isaiah 41, Revelation 11

Dream Big
Ben