Rant: On Hitler

Okay, so, here's something that's been nagging at me today. Hitler. We all know the story: bad guy, responsible for the cruel deaths of countless people, etc. He was sick and twisted and we all know that. I'm not disputing that at all.

Still...

He was not subhuman. He was not an animal. He was not worthless.

He was a created man, loved by God, valued by God. He was not past forgiveness. If he would have turned to Christ and asked for forgiveness, he would have had it in a heartbeat. So how can we hate him? How can we harbor bitterness in our hearts towards any human being, no matter their past or their sins? Do you understand that the Bible says hatred is equivalent to murder? (1 John 3:15) So if we hate Hitler, or Stalin or Lenin or any other human being who ever did anyone wrong, we're hypocrites. We are murderers too.

We tend to think that Hitler's wrongs are somehow much more terrible than our own. And yeah, it would seem like that. But I'm not so sure. Sin is sin is sin, and it all bears the same consequence eternally. Maybe Hitler was in a position where his wrongdoings had a larger impact globally, but we're not better than him just because we've hurt less people than he did. We've all hurt somebody. Maybe not intentionally, maybe not physically, maybe not fatally. But we've all been in the wrong. We just happen to be wrong on a smaller scale. We're all capable of things we don't want to admit to. Do you know how manipulative you can be? Do you know how hurtful you can be? We're just as vulnerable to the lies of the devil as Hitler was.

I'm not saying what Hitler did was in any way justifiable. I'm not saying I condone it. But it also is not our job to judge, our duty to condemn. That's God's responsibility, and we should leave it to Him.

1 John 4:20-21 also says "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has see, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: whoever loves God must also love his brother."

And so maybe you're thinking, but doesn't the Bible say hate evil? Yeah, evil deeds. Hate the sin, not the sinner. I don't believe that people can really be pure evil. I think the Devil can and is, and possibly demon-possessed people could act purely evil. But we're all created in God's image, we all have souls, and they are all of equal value.

And so maybe you're thinking, so what? Hitler's dead. He doesn't care.

And so maybe you're thinking, everybody hates Hitler. What's the big deal?

This isn't just about Hitler. He's just an example. I'm addressing hatred overall. Christ-followers are called to love, not hate. That applies to Hitler, to terrorists, to our political leader, and to the neighbor who always lets their dog poo in your yard. They are all created and loved by God. We are called on to love them too.