Hate your neighbor?

Many of us, especially in the current postmodern Evangelical Christian movement, have taken “righteous” anger and added disgust, resulting in contempt.  As Arthur C. Brooks points out, “contempt is the conviction of the worthlessness of another”.

We would never call it hate but contempt is foundational to hate.

Whatever our position on something is, we would never say we hated the “other side”. That would not be “Christian” or Christ like. However, it seems like many might say they “love” their neighbor (but hate the sin), while holding up some righteous indignation (outrage) to qualify and validate their contempt (disgust) for another’s personhood (hate). To “speak truth in love” with contempt is impossible, so for integrity sake at least take responsibility and call it what it actually is, hate.

Jesus never displayed contempt or hate toward anyone even when addressing sin. EVER.

I don’t know that one can talk or reason another out of contempt. It’s a belief ground in feeling of fear or need to control, and not something logical to be debated. Therefore it’s not about “absolute truth” or biblical inerrancy.  It is about hate, and anyone claiming to be a Christian should calmly, immediately, and unapologetically name it and challenge it when we encounter it within ourselves and our own sphere of valued relationships.

Because if love and grace were genuinely at the core of one’s being, then contempt would not be an issue. It simply couldn’t be. I’m convinced we have a contempt problem in our culture and churches, more so than simply managing anger or resolving sociological or theological differences.

Sin is not about running a foul of some moral rule.
The word sin, translates from the Hebrew word khata, which means to miss the goal.
Jesus said the greatest commandments in all of scripture (goal) is to
1. Love God
2. Love Others.
Contempt (hate) misses both of those. That is literally the essence of biblical sin.