Rom 1:30 says that some people are “haters of God.” Why do they hate God? They hate God because they love and serve something else. Matt 6:24 says that no man can serve two masters. He will hate the one and love the other. That’s how it goes. So, if you love one master, you will hate the other one. So, men hate God because:
They love themselves – 2 Tim 3:2 – that’s why they covet, that’s why they boast, that’s why they are proud, that’s why they blaspheme, that’s why they disobey their parents, and so forth. They love themselves. I visited with a neighbor who has teenagers at home and she said, “My daughter said that she is having trouble with authority.” Do you know what’s at the root of her disobedience? She loves herself. Your love should be directed to God and to others. Jesus summed it up in Matt 22:36-40. When you love God with all your heart, and you love your brothers and sisters in Christ the way that Jesus loved them [Jn 13:34] you’ll hate your own life. See Lk 14:26-27. Jesus willingly laid down his life for us because he loved us. In so doing he found joy [Heb 12:2]. Paul willingly endured hardships in his life because he loved the Lord and he loved others, and he found joy [Acts 20:24; 1 Thes 2:19-20]. Love yourself and you’ll hate God. Love God and you’ll hate your own life. But you’ll find joy unspeakable and full of glory [1 Pet 1:8-9].
They love the world – 1 Jn 2:15-17 – John said, “Love not the world,” [1 Jn 2:15-17]. He continued the verse by writing, “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” You can’t love the world and love God. If you love the world, you will hate God. Look at Jas 4:4. “Friendship of the world is enmity with God.” “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. As Christians we are to set our affection on things above, not on things on the earth [Col 3:1-2]. The things above will last forever. The things of the earth will pass away. Eventually the entire world will go up in smoke [2 Pet 3:10]. 1 Cor 7:31, “the fashion of this world passeth away.” People hate God because they love the world. Love God and you’ll end up hating this world, and rightly so.
They love pleasures – 2 Tim 3:4 – pleasures of this world choke the word of God [Lk 8:14]. Pleasures of sin last only a season [Heb 11:25]. Pleasures with God go on for ever [Ps 16:11]. The thing that is killing Christians spiritually today is that they love pleasure more than God. And they are missing out on the greater pleasures they can have being with God.
They love money – 1 Tim 6:10 – If you love money, you’ll serve money. And when you serve money, you will hate God [Matt 6:24]. You can’t love one without hating the other. Money is a wicked thing to love. It is the root of all evil. Look what happens to people who love money [1 Tim 6:9-10]. The illustrations of the truth of these two verses abound. And the world’s adages are true. Money can’t buy happiness. You can do without money, but you can’t do without God. The widow who gave her two mites knew this perfectly.
Conclusion: If you find that you love any of these, then dedicate yourself to loving God with all of your heart, soul and mind, instead. Loving yourself, the world, pleasures and money will cause you to hate God. You don’t want to do that.