Hate Is Such a Strong Word

Hate is such a strong word at least that is how the saying goes. I would imagine that parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and religious leaders have uttered warnings about refraining from saying, “I hate ________” for centuries. But why? Why all the hatred towards hate?

Perhaps people want to avoid the feeling of hatred itself. Maybe human beings fear that hatred will overcome them entirely (see Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader). And yet, when we attempt to ignore or avoid something by quietly sweeping it under the rug, rather than dealing with it, we tend to veer straight towards that object. If we do not want to get angry ignoring our anger is a perfect way to get angrier. The same may apply to hatred. Rarely can we control such strong, existential phenomena as angry, hate, or love. However, what if this is not what is really meant by the word hate?

In this coming Sunday’s Gospel lesson (Luke 14:25-33) Jesus says to large crowds traveling with him, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” Hate may be a strong word, but Jesus does not shy away from using it when addressing a mass of humanity following him. Jesus, I believe, was not calling his disciples to some strange practices with harsh rhetoric, but rather was using hate in a much different way than we use the word today.

When Jesus said to hate life itself he was not blithely tossing around a power-packed word, nor was he carelessly dropping the h-bomb (hate-bomb in case you are wondering) to gather attention like an angsty teen. No, Jesus’ use of hate was a morally sophisticated challenge for all those who listened to him speak and even to us today. Hate was not a feeling of dissatisfaction, distaste, or repulsion, but rather the verb Jesus used implied making a decision about one’s life and choices.

The word μισέω (miseó) is the Greek verb meaning to hate (who doesn’t love looking at a Greek word for hate on a Monday morning?), and it is a translation of what we believe Jesus said to the crowds. This word calls one into making a moral choice, as it implies not so much a negative feeling as a preferred value. In other words, Jesus was not asking us to be brats towards our family or to carelessly throw away our lives, but rather he was saying to be a follower of Jesus means elevating that way of existing above everything else—even really good other choices like our spouse. Hate in this regard then is a very strong word and it requires us to examine how we are ordering our lives.

What must you be willing to give up, so that you may more fully be in relationship with God? What must you value more, so that you may deepen your relationship with the Divine? How must you live and move and have your being, such that you instinctively exude the love, peace, forgiveness, and joy of Christ? Hate is a strong word, but it is a word that requires you to make a choice. What do you choose?