Hating

Read Luke 14.

Did Jesus really tell us to hate everyone, even ourselves? Did Jesus really say that if we didn't hate everyone in our lives, we can't be his disciple? That's sure the way verse 26 seems to read, isn't it? Is it possible we've not read closely enough?

Jesus obviously didn't hate his mother nor his father nor anyone else in that list (or in the world). Jesus' attitude toward everyone he came in contact with was pure love. We're even told at one point that just by looking at someone, he showed them love (see Mark 10:21). So was Jesus just having a bad day here? What is he saying?

We have to understand that rabbis, like Jesus, often spoke in dramatic hyperbole—which means they would overstate a case to make their point. They would speak "bigger" in order to make a smaller point. I think that's what Jesus is doing here. What he wants is our first loyalty. He wants us to love him so much that it might appear to those on the outside that we "hate" all others. Eugene Peterson has sort of captured this in The Message, where he translates this verse this way: "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple." What Jesus is speaking here is of priority, and as our creator, savior and sustainer, he deserves first place in our lives.

Today, I wonder if he might add other things to the list of things we should "hate." Truly I tell you, unless you hate your...401k, your job, your hobby, your television, computer, internet, smart phone, Facebook, your daily coffee fix, your status in the community...unless you hate these things, you cannot be my disciple. Whatever stands in between you and Jesus, whatever takes first place in your life, that's what he's calling you to put aside, to reorder (right order). It's a question of priority.