The cliche of sin and hate.

"Hate the sin and love the sinner." Mahatma Gandhi

Okay, I’ll be honest, I hate the word sin and I hate the word hate. The words are repulsive to me. Both words have been abused in churches to enact the sin of oppression of human souls. Many people have been convinced that they are low-life pieces of crap and deserve to be punished by a God who loves you but is extremely pissed- off. I don’t know, but that sounds like something Jesus would call sin or that even Jesus would hate. Now that I think about it, it was something Jesus didn’t like. The sin of self- hate and the perpetuating of self-hatred by controlling and abusive religious beliefs sound like something we too ought to hate.

Gandhi’s quote sounds like a beautiful concept and is much more difficult to practice than it is to preach. I saw this today and was reminded of some churches I have visited where I have heard this quote. "Gotta hate the sin and love the sinner." When I read it I get a sick feeling in my stomach for rarely have I seen it practiced by those who love to quote it. And like most great spiritual teachings it is used in a context to manipulate and hurt others. Wouldn’t that be a sin? I don’t think I have ever heard a preacher quote this when referring to lack of healthcare, world hunger, or war. It is usually around something private like, sex. I think it is funny, for many of those using this cliché in their churches would flip out if they realized an India nationalist said it. My gut tells me that Gandhi probably didn’t have the same idea in mind of sin as those who have made this famous. Gandhi was probably a bit more like Jesus.

What is the sin we are supposed to hate? (I am not asking for a list in my comment section.) I wonder if the sin that we are supposed to hate is not what we see in others, but what we see in ourselves? Let’s start there. Or better yet, let’s begin to learn to love ourselves rather than hate so that we can love one another and we won’t be focused on one another’s "sin". If I can get to the point where I hate the sin of pride, arrogance, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, ingratitude, injustice, and dehumanization in myself, then I may be better able to love myself and recognize God’s grace, mercy, and love in my life. Isn’t the evil that we are supposed to hate? And when I am truly in touch with the sinner in me and can love the person that is me, I will be unable to hate the sinner in you, and perhaps we can move on from talking about "sin" and get on to the business of love and resisting evil in this world.