No place for hate

Hate is a seed. A bitter seed that takes root in our hearts and limits are growth.

1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

Without realizing, I have sat next to hate, I have drank coffee with hate, and I have flirted with hate for far too long. Hate has many faces: one of them being jealousy. It can start off as a simple childhood phase: I wish I had her hair, I wish I had her smile, I wish I was as smart as him, I wish, I wish. Wishing for what other’s have is the first step for hating what you have. The more time you spend wishing for what your neighbor has, the more you let rot and die the potential you have.

Hate doesn’t always happen on its own. Sometimes we hate others, because we hate ourselves. There is something about ourselves we dislike, something we refuse to look at it in the mirror, and we push it aside as much as possible. The most dangerous thing about hate is that it makes us feel justified. Someone hurt us..so we are entitled to hate. We are entitled to not forgive, we are entitled..

But if I want to be more like Jesus, I have to start ripping out the weeds of hate that have been choking my potential, whether or not I feel I am entitled to have those feelings. If we base the story of Jesus, Judas’ betrayal, the hatred he received from the Pharisees, according to the standards of the world, Jesus should have hated everyone. But he did the opposite. He forgives and he forgets.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22–23)

There no place for hate in the kingdom of God and there is no longer place in my heart for hate.