How Do You Teach Your Kids to Hate What God Hates—And Still Love Sinners?

This question hits home, doesn’t it? In a culture that prizes “niceness” above all else, you might struggle with this tension: How do you teach your children to hate sin, and even the enemies of God, while also teaching them to love their neighbor and their enemies?

The first step is to recognize that the modern church has made a critical mistake: instead of loving its enemies, it’s tried to have no enemies. But if you stand for truth, you’ll have enemies. Christ did, and so will you (John 15:18). To love your enemies rightly, you first have to acknowledge that they exist. Don’t sanitize the fact that God hates sin and opposes those who persist in it (Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5). You are called to hate sin and evil, too.

But here’s the key: there’s a distinction between hating sin and sinners generally, and how you deal with individuals. Scripture teaches you to hate the “enemies of God” as a group. Hate their wickedness, their rebellion, and the destruction they promote. Oppose their ideologies, dismantle their strongholds, and work for righteousness. This is what Paul commands in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” To hate what God hates means engaging in this battle—to confront and tear down false ideologies that oppose Him.

But when you stand face to face with an individual sinner—whether it’s a lost coworker, a deceived neighbor, or someone at a drag show—your posture is different. This is where you show love. True love isn’t about affirming people in their sin; it’s about pointing them to the truth. It’s helping them see the wicked ideology that enslaves them and offering them the hope of freedom in Christ. This is what separates Christianity from every other worldview: your God takes His enemies and makes them His friends.

Teach your children this tension. Hate sin because it offends God and destroys lives. Teach them to oppose wickedness in society while never losing compassion for the lost. Help them see that behind every ideology or movement they hate, there are individual sinners who need the gospel—sinners just like you, saved only by God’s grace.

So how do you do this practically? Start by involving your kids in evangelism. Let them see you preaching truth, sharing the gospel, and loving individuals who are trapped in sin. Show them that biblical hatred for evil doesn’t produce bitterness or arrogance; it produces action—both in opposing wickedness and in lovingly calling sinners to repentance.

Your goal isn’t to destroy sinners; it’s to see God turn His enemies into friends, just like He did with you. Teach your children to hate what God hates and love as He loves—fiercely, truthfully, and sacrificially. That’s how you imitate your Father in heaven.