When We Hate

What made you decide to read this particular column? I can think of a number of possibilities, but maybe none of them apply to you...or maybe they do. Did the title catch you because you recognize the division all around us in our world, nation, neighborhoods? Did it catch you because you're feeling upset about something? Or maybe because you've experienced something hateful recently? Or witnessed it? Are you looking for an answer about how to fix it, make it go away, turn our world toward greater peace and love and hope?

I don't know, maybe none of those fit your motivation for clicking on this link. Regardless of your "why," here's my "why" for writing this blog entry. Hate destroys, period. It is a powerful, ugly force that attacks and does damage. When we hate something--and I would argue this extends even to sin--that hate lashes out in ways that often times take on a life of their own, sending ripple effects of destruction in every direction. Jesus' instructions could not have been clearer: "Love your enemies." That doesn't mean we have to love what our enemies might do, nor do we have to love what happens as a result of what they've done. But we do have to love them.

Wow--even just typing that makes me bristle. I'm thinking of folks who actively pursue good people to ensure their downfall...I'm thinking of folks who lie and cheat and betray and abandon and disappoint and blame and manipulate...I'm thinking of folks who will destroy innocents out of self-interest...I'm thinking of folks who purposely close their eyes and turn their backs to the truth. Surely Jesus could not have meant "those people." Well...read that list again. It doesn't just describe folks who might be characters in your own life story--it describes folks who did those very things to Jesus, many of whom he called to be his closest disciples.

Answer: yes, he most certainly did mean "those people." We are meant to love, not to hate. That's a no-brainer for anyone reading this--that is not a news flash. Odds are pretty good those words have come out of your own mouth often in your lifetime. But maybe today as you re-read the words, "Love--do not hate--your enemies," you might ponder who in your life needs to be released from the destructive force of hate...and together let's pray this weekend's Alleluia verse from Colossians: "Let the peace of Christ control your hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." May this word, the Word, dwell richly in you today--that Love might conquer all else. All else.