A Healthy Disgust

O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who resist you? Psalm 139:21

Life is competitive. We compete in our careers. We compete for our kids’ growth and development. We compete for the ideologies we believe in. We compete with our sinful desires, and we compete with the one who wants those desires to rule our lives.

Part of the process of a man’s life is to kindle an awareness of what is really going on in this world. We need to keep our hearts soft toward God, but we need to develop thick skin toward deception and false teaching, and we need to have a level of disgust toward those who want to lead us astray.

There is a true story of a Republican political leader in Vermont who always showed up at Democratic rallies. He seemed to take grim pleasure in attending these gatherings, somewhat to the discomfort of the assembled Democrats. His presence made their parties seem less “homey.”

One day a Democratic leader asked the old fellow why he came to their meetings: “Is it in your mind that you might get converted or something?”

“Oh, no,” said the Republican, “Nothin’ like that. I’ll tell ye, I jes’ come aroun’ t’ yer meetin’s so’s t’ keep my disgust fresh.”^a

We need to keep our disgust fresh toward Satan, his demons, and anyone who wants us to build our lives on lies. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are in a spiritual war with the devil and his minions. They have limited power and can lie very persuasively. But our Savior has ultimate power and is the very source of truth.

God, help me to see my spiritual enemies the way you see them. Remind me daily that ultimate victory is mine.