Giant Killer Series - Giant Hate
By Professor Colin Smith
One of the most epic battles in The Giant Killer pictures the good knight, Fides', struggling to overcome Giant Hate. In my research on the topic of hate, I was fascinated to discover that hate is not always a bad thing. We are actually called to hate the things God hates and love the things God loves. However, hate toward our fellow man is a bad thing.
In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus says,
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, “Raca,” shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, “Thou fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire.
What comes next is puzzling. Jesus says,
Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Why does Jesus choose the scenario of a man approaching an altar to illustrate His point about hate? The altar represented sacrifice, forgiveness of sins, and righteousness. These are all themes in the larger context of Jesus' teaching in this passage (Matthew 5-7). So why does Jesus explicitly reference an altar in regard to anger, hate, and murder?
Let’s bring this into perspective. John, who was taught directly by Jesus, had no doubt heard his master teach on the subject of hate many times. John, like Jesus, connects anger, hatred, and murder to an altar.
1 John 3:11-16 says,
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his actions were evil and his brothers were righteous. Do not be surprised if the world hates you, my brothers and sisters. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
John likely heard his teacher (Jesus) talk about hate in the context of the story of Cain and Abel. If this was the case, then John was hearing a retelling of the events from the perspective of God Himself. Not since Moses had listened to the account from God firsthand and written it down had anyone in recorded history discussed the matter of Cain and Abel firsthand with God.
John supplies us with essential information about Cain, saying he belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. According to John, the wicked actions of Cain proceeded from the one he belonged to ("the evil one”). This emphasis on one person proceeding from another is seen in Genesis 4 (Cain, Abel, and Seth proceeding from Adam and Eve) and in 1 John (Cain proceeding from the evil one). John connects the idea of the devil and the importance of Christians being born from God's seed in the previous passage (1 John 3:7-10). John also uses a literary device called chiasm to show his readers the importance of being born of God’s seed. Look how the ideas mirror each other, focusing on the central concept of God's seed remaining in us,
This teaching about being "born of God" in 1 John 3 is also in the account of Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3. In John 3:3, Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be "born from above" to see the kingdom of God. According to John 1, the right to be called children of God does not come through genetic parentage but is the gift God gives to all who believe in Jesus (John 1:11-13). So, according to Jesus and John, there are two families in this world: the family of faith, consisting of all who place their faith in Jesus; and the family of the devil, consisting of all who do not put their faith in Jesus. When Cain acted out of the hate in his heart, he showed that he was not of the family of faith but of the family of the devil.
John goes on in 1 John 3 to explain why Cain murdered his brother: "because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous." The Lord did not accept the offering Cain brought to the Lord. To better understand what made Cain’s offering unacceptable, we must find out what made Abel’s offering acceptable. Hebrews 11:4 says,
By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings, and by faith, Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
Faith is what made Abel and, therefore, his offering, acceptable. An absence of faith is what condemned Cain and his offering.
So, what is the connection between Matthew 5, 1 John 3, and Hebrews 11? When we know Jesus for who He is (namely, the Son of God who came into this world to die for our sins), and we believe (faith), something happens in our hearts. Through faith, we are given a new right relationship with God (righteousness). At the cross, we experience the forgiveness of God through one ultimate act of love (sending His Son to die on our behalf). God's love, forgiveness, and righteousness change how we treat each other.
Suppose we have experienced the love and forgiveness of God in the face of our hate and rebellion toward Him. In that case, we will be humbled and live a life characterized by loving and forgiving others the way God did for us. God replaces the hate in our hearts with love. When we approach God and come to the 'altar', we do so through faith, expressing love, not hate. Hate lives and grows in the heart, and the only way to evict this giant is by replacing him with a newer and stronger resident, namely the Holy Spirit. That is how we fight Giant Hate in our own lives!
For more insights into Giant Hate and how we can fight him, listen to our Giant Killer podcast or read some of the recommended reading below!
Till next week,
Colin Smith
Fight the Giant Hate with the following books on love and redemption:
Rising to the Top (ages 6-11)
King Jack book or audio (ages 6-11)
House of Love (ages 9-14)
Seven Days Left book or audiobook (ages 12+)
The Lamplighter (ages 12+)
