Got clobbered by a Scripture verse this week.

Proverbs 8:13 proclaims, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil.” I’m guessing your reaction is like mine was—initially. With a dismissive yawn, you’re saying, “No problem there. I definitely hate evil.”

Not so fast.

What about the evil of profanity in the TV programs we stream?

What about the evil of sensuality in the movies we pay good money to see?

What about the evil in the books we read?

And what about the blogs and social media voices we champion whose words spew a literary napalm over our political foes?

What about the evil (it can only be called that) which hardens our hearts to the plight of the poor, the disenfranchised, the folks who don’t vote like we do. Do we hate that evil?

Isn't it true we tolerate—and often celebrate—the voices of snarky politicians who think like we think? Yet harsh words are never holy words.  

Could you honestly say you’re never greedy? Isn’t it true that we are often consumed with wanting just a little more money, just a little more recognition, just a little more sex? A bigger house. A bigger diamond. A bigger SUV. The Bible calls this preoccupation of ours idolatry (Colossians 3:5). And God hates the evil of idolatry.

The hard truth is, if we don’t truly hate evil, we merely dislike it. And there’s a vast gulf between the two.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Besides, the inventory of my own evil demands a humility best expressed in silent confession.

Lord God of heaven,

Deliver us from evil—especially the evil we don’t even know we harbor inside.

In Christ’s holy name,

Amen!