Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10:12)
Oh boy, the directions I could go with this: that person… that group… they’re so hate-filled. The other day I read a part of a story that portrays someone I love in a manner that is one hundred percent contrary to his true nature. If the story had been about Martin Luther King, Jr., or former president Obama, or a prominent member of some resistance group in America… if the story had even been about someone of another color, gender, or heritage, it would have been attacked by all sorts of people. But because it attacked God, no one is permitted to say a word.
Yep, I’m human, and like all humans, I find it much easier to hate than I do to love. And that statement will probably raise some hackles, too – “I don’t hate anyone, you sick, sick person. How dare you say I hate?” The truth is, it’s easier to hate than to love. Real love is hard work. Real love wants what is in the best interest of the beloved – even if that means upsetting the beloved because what the beloved is doing is wrong.
As I walked this morning and then biked, I wondered how I was going to deal with this verse. There are people who claim that I stir up conflict. Sometimes, they’re correct. It seems to me that more often they self-righteously throw out bait in hopes that some stupid person will come along and make a comment. They call the person who takes the bait a troll, but the truth is, in putting the bait in the water, they’re trolling. If your goal is to find someone to abuse, how can you complain when someone takes the bait. Oh yeah, because admitting that you are seeking such an opportunity would make you the troll, and that can’t be. You’re loving, tolerant, compassionate, kind…
Back to my dilemma this morning. What can I possibly say about hate and conflict when I am quite willing to enter into conflict? The first thing is what I’ve already said. I’m human and humans hate better than they love. The second thing is that not all conflict should be avoided. We are called to stand for what is right, and to hate what is wrong. Jesus didn’t avoid all conflict. He healed on Sundays knowing that it would create conflict. Did Jesus hate the Pharisees? No. He hated Phariseeism. But He didn’t avoid conflict, he sought it. We are told not to hide our lights under bushels, but if we don’t, our light will reveal the darkness of others, and drive that darkness away. Conflict is inevitable.
Self-justification? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe just reality. But that doesn’t resolve my issue. Then I considered what I had been doing for the previous half-hour as I’d walked and biked around the park. I’d been praying for the people who live in the park. I’d been praying for government officials, for people in various jobs, for friends, and for people with whom I am not getting along – people who hate me. The requests don’t vary much from person to person, so how I feel about that person doesn’t matter. I’m still a human being, but there is a small window of every day in which I purposely, consciously practice loving others.
There is one other tidbit that deserves mention. Whenever our “love” for other people overshadows our love of God, we’re hating God. We are to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. We are only to love others as ourselves. And we know we love Him if we obey His commands. So. My love stinks. How perfect is yours?
Yep, I’m human, and like all humans, I find it much easier to hate than I do to love. And that statement will probably raise some hackles, too – “I don’t hate anyone, you sick, sick person. How dare you say I hate?” The truth is, it’s easier to hate than to love. Real love is hard work. Real love wants what is in the best interest of the beloved – even if that means upsetting the beloved because what the beloved is doing is wrong.
As I walked this morning and then biked, I wondered how I was going to deal with this verse. There are people who claim that I stir up conflict. Sometimes, they’re correct. It seems to me that more often they self-righteously throw out bait in hopes that some stupid person will come along and make a comment. They call the person who takes the bait a troll, but the truth is, in putting the bait in the water, they’re trolling. If your goal is to find someone to abuse, how can you complain when someone takes the bait. Oh yeah, because admitting that you are seeking such an opportunity would make you the troll, and that can’t be. You’re loving, tolerant, compassionate, kind…
Back to my dilemma this morning. What can I possibly say about hate and conflict when I am quite willing to enter into conflict? The first thing is what I’ve already said. I’m human and humans hate better than they love. The second thing is that not all conflict should be avoided. We are called to stand for what is right, and to hate what is wrong. Jesus didn’t avoid all conflict. He healed on Sundays knowing that it would create conflict. Did Jesus hate the Pharisees? No. He hated Phariseeism. But He didn’t avoid conflict, he sought it. We are told not to hide our lights under bushels, but if we don’t, our light will reveal the darkness of others, and drive that darkness away. Conflict is inevitable.
Self-justification? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe just reality. But that doesn’t resolve my issue. Then I considered what I had been doing for the previous half-hour as I’d walked and biked around the park. I’d been praying for the people who live in the park. I’d been praying for government officials, for people in various jobs, for friends, and for people with whom I am not getting along – people who hate me. The requests don’t vary much from person to person, so how I feel about that person doesn’t matter. I’m still a human being, but there is a small window of every day in which I purposely, consciously practice loving others.
There is one other tidbit that deserves mention. Whenever our “love” for other people overshadows our love of God, we’re hating God. We are to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. We are only to love others as ourselves. And we know we love Him if we obey His commands. So. My love stinks. How perfect is yours?
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