LOVING RIGHT AND HATING WRONG

Hebrews 1:8-9 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

The writer of Hebrews, quoting from the Psalms, gloriously speaks of our Savior, the Messiah, the Anointed One. He was anointed with grace and power, and was clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit without measure. No one before or after ever qualified as Jesus did for the power of God resting upon him and working through him. In describing our Lord, Emmanuel, it is stated that He "loved righteousness, and hated iniquity." What a wonderful attribute in Jesus to be praised, and to desire in our own personal walk! He loved what was right and hated what was wrong. This is such a simple formula, but also a searching one. If we want more of God's blessing and anointing upon our lives, this is one area we must periodically examine. We should honestly ask ourselves: "Do I really hate iniquity?" and "How much do I love righteousness?" It is not just a matter of trying to do right, but of loving what is right. Similarly, it is not only avoiding evil, but also developing a hatred for evil. And of course, evil is not just the evil that is seen in others but also, and more importantly, the evil that is found in us. We must learn to hate our sin, including: pride, laziness, selfishness, gossip, jealousy, pro-crastination, lust, stubbornness, etc. The Bible says that Jesus had such a love for righteousness and a hatred for iniquity; "therefore", God anointed Him in an unusual way. He had unusual power from on high. We need God's power upon our lives and ministries. We need for God to work in us and through us. If we are going to be blessed with a significant measure of God's power, if the Holy Spirit is going to be comfortable filling our lives and using us as His instruments, we must live holy lives. We must develop and maintain a love for the things that are right and a hatred for sin. The Bible refers to this anointing as the "oil of gladness." There is joy that accompanies the Spirit's empowerment. The times that Christians are truly the happiest or have the most joy are when they are fully surrendered to Christ, loving what He loves, and hating what He hates.

A devotional thought by Pastor Smith of Mt. Zion Baptist Church