Giving up hatred is one of the 40 Things that seems easy on the surface. Not many of us would admit to hatred or readily see its evidence in our lives. Hatred is a strong word. It is often associated with violence. And most of us would not consider ourselves violent people. We don’t think of ourselves as being filled with hatred.
But hatred is something that is clearly evident in this world. Hatred takes on many different forms.
- There is hatred among nations. It a reason we have wars.
- There is hatred in families. How many families do we see where people don’t speak to each other?
- There is hatred between ethnic groups. Racism is alive and well.
- There is religious hate. Unfortunately, the pulpit has been used to preach hate.
The world tells us to love our neighbors and hate our enemies. You don’t want someone who is out to “get” you to take advantage of you. Stand strong. Don’t back down to a bully. Hate comes naturally.
But Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
What? Love our enemies?
Yes, that is what Jesus says. Because someone else is hateful does not mean that you need to be hateful. You can be the better person. You can “kill’em with kindness.” The idea that when we offer kindness to our enemies that they are shamed and guilted over their behavior.
Loving our enemies starts with praying for our enemy. Who is it that you have a hard time praying for? Think about it. I imagine that you can come up with a few people you don’t like. You may not say that you “hate” them. But you can admit the you strongly dislike them.
Start praying for them. It is hard to harbor hatred towards someone you are praying for. God will start to reveal the hurt in that person’s life. That hurt is probably the thing that makes them the way they are. God will begin to show you ways not to get revenge on them, but how to serve them.
Terry Noble says
In these troubled times, praying is the ONLY thing I can do for those I dislike, despise, am angry with and have revengeful thoughts about. My solice and freedom is to give it to God for He is often the only one who can address my issue. He knows what is going on and why.