Hate, like love, is a big subject with various shades of meaning. Some hatred is good because God wants us to hate evil (Proverbs 6:16-19; 8:13). But most hatred is a terrible part of human nature—hostility, resentment, revenge, cruelty, the spirit of murder, a major cause of wars, etc. We see hatred in our society becoming more widespread, intense and violent. We hear a lot about irrational hatred, but the most irrational hatred was of the perfect Man, Jesus Christ! Hatred is certainly not new—Cain killed his brother Abel. The Old Testament teaches love but Jesus Christ raised the standard, teaching that we should even love our enemies (Matthew 5:38-48). Matthew 24:9-12 is one of the saddest passages in the Bible because it seems to apply primarily to the people God has called. It says “many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another” and “the love of many will grow cold.” May this never be true of any of us!

Don Hooser

United Church of God Pastor

Don Hooser is a minister for the United Church of God. He and his wife Judy live in his home in McKinney, Texas, during the winter months and in her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, during the summer months. His wife Elsie died in August 2020 and he married Judy on January 1, 2022.  Mr. Hooser graduated in 1963 from Southern Methodist University with a degree in mechanical engineering, and graduated in 1966 from Ambassador College, Big Sandy, Texas.  For most of the time since then he served as a church pastor.