If our soul’s deepest desire is God in all his goodness—if we hunger and thirst for the righteousness we know comes from him alone—then hatred of evil should be one of our defining traits. We cannot love God without hating sin, nor can we love sin without hating God.

Our world flatly rejects this notion. Indeed, to the minds of many, the only real evil in the world is the hatred of evil. Where the world once saw Christians as “do-gooders”, we’re now seen as dangerous enemies to the true expression of self.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Evil brings harm to the human soul and destruction to human society. Hatred of it is a profound expression of love: first to God, then to others and ourselves.

To shun wickedness and live according to God’s good order is pure freedom. As creatures, we can do no better than conform to our creator’s will. We will never feel properly at ease until we align with his will and ways. We’ll find safety only when we jettison our trust in (and conformity to) worldly things and entrust ourselves instead to God’s good ways. Only then will our humanity find its home.

In this, God provides guardianship and offers protection: by continually surrendering ourselves in faith to his promise in Jesus Christ. The wicked hand may well strike, but it won’t take hold of us forever because nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of our God which is in Christ Jesus. In him, we are home.