Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

(Titus 3:1-3 ESV)

I haven’t been actively trying to follow the American election but it has been hard to ignore. Perhaps one of the things that has stood out for me has been the level of hostility in much of the comment I have read. It is not an exaggeration to say that George Bush is "hated" by many, and many of the computer programming blogs I read have expressed their utter contempt for Sarah Palin. On the other side, there are undoubtedly those whose attitude to Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton could also be described as "hatred".

And it’s not just the arena of politics. Any celebrity, or indeed anyone who is in the public eye is apparently fair game these days. They can be freely insulted ("stupid" and "scary" are the favourites at the moment) without fear of comeback.

In short, Paul’s description of a society who are "slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another" seems remarkably up to date.

The challenge for Christians in these days is to refuse to join in with the culture of hatred, and instead "to  speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people". It is good to see people like John Piper setting an example in this way, speaking out clearly his beliefs (which are not going to be popular with everyone) yet without resorting to inflammatory or insulting language.

Maybe as Christians we are going to be called "stupid" and "scary" a whole lot more in the coming years. But let us make it virtually impossible for us to be accused of hatred because of the gentleness and courtesy that consistently characterise us.

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

(Luke 6:27-28 ESV)