How to Hate Your Family

What? Why Would I Want to Hate My Own Family…

Well…Because Jesus commanded it:
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

1. Christ must be loved Supremely – above ALL else, even family;
2. We must be willing to suffer shame & even death for Christ; &
3. We must give up all of our own desires to adopt His desires.

I say “MUST” because if you refuse to do so, then he says you are not “worthy” of Him… Not worthy of being called or counted as one of His disciples.

In another place, Jesus states it even more strongly – “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” This One known for supreme love tells us to hate our own family? But in other places He tells us to love others as we love ourselves. So what is He saying? That your love for Him must be so great as to make all of your other loves look like hate in comparison.

Our first and strongest loyalty is to be to God.

The reason for this is that the only One who can control your life without destroying it is Jesus Christ. When you take control, you will damage and/or destroy your life. Many of us can testify to the fact that we have seen life begin to fall apart when we put God over on the sideline and tried to take control ourselves.

In the same way, Terrible things happen when family relationships are put before God. Families cannot be what they should be without God. No family can reach its full potential without God. Without God as the key Leader, a family will lack spiritual growth, will lack the Holy Spirit’s strength and conviction, will lack true commitment to one another, and will lack a guiding purpose. There is only One who can control your family without destroying it. Without Him as the family leader, there is a lack of spiritual strength to face the trials and crises that confront the family during life together.

The point is this: we must love God supremely, putting Him before all others, even before our own family members. When we do, our families are assured of being everything they should be and of being looked after and cared for by God. Therefore a person’s decision to follow Christ is the best decision he can make for his spouse and his family.

John Piper wrote it this way to his son on the occasion of his marriage – “Love her more by Loving her less” – By loving God supremely, He will help you love her more completely.

So let us love our families more, by loving them less.