Should we hate our father, mother, wife and children, brother and sisters and even ourselves?

[ready]

Ready many thanks, but I would like to ask you a question please.** Could you please spell out for me what is to love God**? I would like you to tell me exactly in what consists to love God and to love neighbor. I hope you will not mind.

In the love of Christ,
Gloria

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We love God when we obey his commands, for Jesus Himself has said this. I know that you know this is true, Gloria, for you have already pointed this out. We love our neighbor when we want what is best for them (Heaven) and do what is best for them (help them get to Heaven) and when we sacrifice for them. God bless you.

EDIT:

When we want what is best for our neighbor we want the greatest good for them. In this and in sacrificing for our neighbor consists love of neighbor

 

[Gloria_de_G]

We love God when we obey his commands, for Jesus Himself has said this. I know that you know this is true, Gloria, for you have already pointed this out. We love our neighbor when we want what is best for them (Heaven) and do what is best for them (help them get to Heaven) and when we sacrifice for them. God bless you.

EDIT:

When we want what is best for our neighbor we want the greatest good for them. In this and in sacrificing for our neighbor consists love of neighbor

Many thanks Ready I just wanted to know if we were talking the same things, may God give you the blessing to keep His commandments to the maximum and to enjoy life for ever, eternal life which He promised us.

I do not know if you saw another thread that I wrote, and will be very nice to have your comments.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=844442 What is real love? How Christ wants me to love?

In the love of Christ and the joy of having lots of brothers and sisters who are of one mind all over the world,
Gloria

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[ready]

Many thanks Ready I just wanted to know if we were talking the same things, may God give you the blessing to keep His commandments to the maximum and to enjoy life for ever, eternal life which He promised us.

I do not know if you saw another thread that I wrote, and will be very nice to have your comments.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=844442 What is real love? How Christ wants me to love?

In the love of Christ and the joy of having lots of brothers and sisters who are of one mind all over the world,
Gloria

.

Thanks so much, Gloria, for your kind wishes. I’ll go to your other thread to leave a comment. God bless you and Mary keep you!

 

[Gloria_de_G]

I would like to summarize it like this:

Should we** hate evil**, as Saint Paul has commended us to do??? (Rom 12:9)

Should we hate evil even in our relatives???

Should we** hate evil** even in ourselves, when we happen to misbehave???

The answer to all these is YES, we should hate evil where ever we see it.

But this does not give us freedom to be bad with anybody, not even with ourselves. So hate evil but **love **the person.

HOW???

By learning from God:

“Those whom I love,** I rebuke and chasten**; so be zealous and repent” Ap 3:19

If we love our relatives we will fear very much for their salvation. If they are openly doing evil and we see that they will end in the lake of fire. So we will beg them to repent from what they are doing so that they may also be save.
*Begging *not nagging, begging is with love nagging is with bother and even despise.

In the love of the Salvation that Christ brought to all,
Gloria

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[Tomdstone]

Both this and the “Call no man Father” are examples of hyperbole. So is " if your eye offends thee, then pluck it out". Jesus used this as a way of teaching by exaggeration.

But why exaggerate? Why not just state clearly and plainly what should be said so that there would be no misinterpretation at a later date?

 

[Robyn_p]

But why exaggerate? Why not just state clearly and plainly what should be said so that there would be no misinterpretation at a later date?

It was a common teaching technique in those days. People then would have understood him fine.

But you touch on a good point, and this is precisely why Catholics don’t believe Jesus just left us a book to interpret on our own. Because he knew we would have problems like this. Even if he had spoken plainly and not used any figures of speech, people still could, and would misinterpret his words. That’s the nature of speech.

And he knew that. That’s why we believe Christ left us a living, teaching authority in the Church, which, guided and protected by him, is able to give us the authentic interpretation of his words. So there would be no confusion.

 

[Tomdstone]

I personally love my father and mother and would never hate them.

 

[Robyn_p]

I personally love my father and mother and would never hate them.

Ok. That’s good. But you’re not being asked to literally hate them, as we’ve already explained. So not sure what you’re trying to say.

If that really were the case, Jesus would be telling us to break one of the Ten Commandments, which he wouldn’t do. And if his saying was confusing to the Jews, we would have seen them arguing among themselves why he was asking them to do this. Family was extremely important in their culture, if they understood him to literally be saying “hate your family” they would have objected, just like they did when other things Jesus said contradicted Moses’ teaching.

The fact that we don’t see this is a strong indicator they didn’t understand him literally, but knew exactly what he was saying: a disciple of Christ can’t put anything, even family bonds, above following him. This makes sense especially in light of Jesus’ other saying:

For take heed to yourselves: for they will deliver you up to councils and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them…and brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. (Mk 13:9-13)

Jesus’ followers were going to lose their very families for converting. That’s why he said what he did. He wasn’t asking them to sin, he was showing them the radical commitment it takes to be a Christian.

 

[MacQ]

remeber in hebrew there are no degree terms as in more or less than
therefore to say love God more than your parents one would have to say something like Love God hate parents

Just like how God loved Isaac and hates Isheameal really was a hebrew idom

This is how I have understood it.
And it is the only explanation that makes sense, in light of the fact that we are exhorted to love one another.

In telling someone else their sin we should also remember Wisdom and charity. There is a time for everything. And not everyone is ready to be confronted. If they know you do not approve of their behavior you do not need to continually remind them. You will only drive them away further. If you confront them in a hostile way you will almost certainly drive them away. But, if out of love and concern for their well being you share with them God’s plan they may listen. If they know that you love them first they may listen. But if you come across as holier than though you have already lost. Remember, we are all sinners. If anyone says he is without sin, as St. John says, he is a liar. So before you take the speck out of your brothers eye first take the log out of your own.

For with the mercy you show others will be what you receive.

Quite so.
Pope Francis reminded us of this quite recently when he said “Correction without charity is a slap in the face”…and when he reminded us that in order to bring people around, we have to meet them where they are (have a relationship).