I didn’t sleep well last night. And I know why.
I made the mistake of scrolling through my X feed before bed. It was filled with reactions to President Trump’s post about the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife. Most of the responses were swift and one-sided in condemnation. Others were more careful, attempting to explain or contextualize the President's writing. None of it brought peace.
My mind kept returning to what happened to the Reiners and the brutality of the crime itself. There is nothing abstract about being stabbed to death. It is violent. It is personal. And to imagine that the one holding the knife was their own son makes it even more horrifying. Those final moments must have been filled with terror and the deepest betrayal.
Then my thoughts turned to the President. I have voted for him three times. I have generally been pleased with his policies, especially during this term. But the man is deeply flawed. No honest observer can deny that. At the same time, it is also true that no modern president has endured the level of hostility he has faced. Years of relentless media attacks. Attempts to bankrupt him. Efforts to imprison him. False narratives that never seem to die. Two assassination attempts. That kind of pressure would crush most people. Somehow, he has remained standing.
And yet, something is clearly wrong.
The President identifies with Christianity, but he has openly acknowledged that hatred drives him. He has said so himself, even in places where such words should never be celebrated. Hatred is not something he hides. At times, it almost seems embraced. That should trouble every Christian, regardless of where they fall politically.
At the same time, Rob Reiner was no innocent bystander in the cultural war. His public record shows years of venomous rhetoric. He used his platform, influence, and resources to repeatedly attack and undermine the President. The hatred ran both directions.
And that is the larger problem.
We are living in a moment where hatred feels like the fuel of our world. Not disagreement. Not debate. Hatred. People are no longer content to differ. They want to divide, destroy, and erase. The news cycle is filled with rage. Mass shootings driven by ideology and grievance. Violence fueled by identity, religion, and political allegiance. As 2025 has unfolded, it is hard to even keep count.
Hatred is no longer hidden. It is celebrated. And it is killing us.
Scripture is not silent about this. In fact, the Bible treats hatred not as a personality flaw, but as a spiritual disease. Something corrosive. Something deadly. Something utterly incompatible with the life Christ calls us to live.
My heart hurts because of what I see happening to our nation, our leaders, and our neighbors. And more than anything, it hurts because I know what hatred does to the human soul.
The Bible has a lot to say about that.
What Scripture Teaches Us About Hatred
The Bible does not treat hatred as a minor flaw or a justified response to difficult people. It treats it as a serious spiritual danger.
John’s words are unsettling in their clarity:
“Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him” (1 John 3:15, CSB).
Hatred does not begin with violence. It begins in the heart. Long before a hand is raised, a heart has already decided that another person no longer deserves dignity, mercy, or love. That is why Scripture speaks so strongly. Hatred dehumanizes. It justifies evil. And if left unchecked, it eventually spills out in destructive ways.
Paul addresses this directly in Ephesians. He does not tell Christians to manage their anger or learn how to channel it more responsibly. He says to remove it.
“Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31, CSB).
Notice the progression. Bitterness takes root. Anger flares. Wrath follows. Words become weapons. And underneath it all is malice, settled hatred. Paul says it all must go. Not some of it. Not most of it. All of it.
Why? Because hatred is inconsistent with the gospel.
“And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32, CSB).
The standard is not how others treat us. The standard is how God treated us in Christ. Christians cannot cling to hatred while claiming to live under grace.
Earlier in Ephesians, Paul reminds us of what Christ accomplished.
“For Christ is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14, CSB).
Hatred rebuilds walls that Jesus died to tear down. That alone should stop us in our tracks.
Colossians reinforces the same truth. Paul again names hatred and its companions as part of the old life.
“But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth” (Colossians 3:8, CSB).
Malice is hatred that has settled in and made itself at home. Paul says it does not belong in the renewed life. Christians have changed.
“You have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self” (Colossians 3:9–10, CSB).
And the new life must be clothed with something better.
“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience… Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity” (Colossians 3:12, 14, CSB).
Hatred is not just discouraged in Scripture. It is incompatible with life in Christ.
We are living in a time when hatred is loud, rewarded, and excused. But Christians were never called to mirror the age. We were called to expose it by living differently.
“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good” (Romans 12:21, CSB).
That is not weakness. It is spiritual courage. Hatred is easy. Love costs more. And love requires trusting God’s justice rather than feeding our own anger.
If hatred is shaping our thoughts, our speech, or our rest, something is wrong. The answer is not disengagement from the world, but deeper allegiance to Christ.
Light still shines in the darkness. But it only shines through hearts that refuse to let hatred have the final word.
Thank you brother Allen for your timely and excellent article addressing the subject of hatred, especially in the context of our current political climate. All Christians should strive to be more Christ-like in our discourse. You are correct, there is no place for hatred, especially in the actions of faithful Christians. Thanks again for sharing your well needed thoughts!
Amen, brother! The enemy that is destroying this country is not Democrat or Republican, but Satan—burrowing deep into the hearts of even believers. The damage will not be undone until there is widespread repentance before the God who made us all.