Hatred is hip.
Or at least it seems to be.
There was a time when hatred and vitriol was limited to the major news networks. You knew what to expect when you tuned into CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc… There would be well dressed, well spoken adults talking at length about who exactly was causing all of the problems in the world. You would choose your channel according to who you thought your enemy was. Life was easier when you could get your hatred and outrage in a predictable easy package (sarcasm intended).
Hatred seems to have spilled over into everything now. It’s on every channel and every social media outlet. Everyone is making a statement and the overwhelming majority of those statements are “I hate ______”. It’s easy to find enemies in the world we live in. But what do we do when we have set our sights on the people we dislike the most?
We love them.
In one of the most famous sermons in history, Jesus looked out to the crowds gathered and said, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’, and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you. In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 43-45a, NLT)
Leave it to Jesus to rain on a perfectly good hate-fest.
It’s ok to disagree with people in your life or with leaders at your work or in the government. It’s ok to take a stand, and to recognize those who stand against you. It’s not ok to hate other people. It’s easy. It’s natural. But it’s not how we were created to live. You were made to be loved and to offer love to others. That calling is even more powerful when we extend love to those that are hard to love. So, who has made you the most angry today? Whose voice makes you cringe? Here are a couple of thoughts to help you counter hate with love:
Pray for them
It’s really hard to hate someone that you are praying for. Praying that God will smite them doesn’t count. Take a few minutes and pray for the well-being of people that you struggle with the most. Don’t just pray for them to change. Pray that their families will be healthy and a source of joy to them. Pray that they will have a good life full of peace and happiness.
Complement them to others
This isn’t easy, and you don’t want to give sarcastic or empty complements. Take some time and think of something about your enemy that you admire or appreciate. You may have to look for a while, but there’s something there! When you find that, go out of your way to speak well of that person to someone else. Recounting the bad is easy, seeking the good is life-giving.
The charge that Jesus gave us to love our enemies isn’t easy, but few things of worth in this world are easy. In a world of hatred, I pray that you’ll be a voice of peace. When you are surrounded by a world that assumes the worst, I pray that you will learn to believe the best!