Hate... Intense Anger... Murder
My kids are in middle school... my daughter every week comes home not liking somebody, because of something that she had done to her. Right now, she has two neighbor girls that were her best friends until recently. The one girl just moved into our community and they befriended each other pretty quick. But she is one that you cannot have any more friends than just her. Well my daughter is not like that at all.
Well the new girl decided that she would befriend the other girl... and they all three became friends. Hanging out doing homework together, etc. Then all of a sudden the new girl told the other friend that she could not be friends with my daughter if she wanted to be her friend. So now the three girls, have an extreme dislike for each other.
I have heard my daughter out of her hurt say things like... "I hate [insert new girl's name] and [other girl's name] because of this". So we have been helping her to work through this feeling.
Today, I was studying this passage of scripture... and really focused on the word hate. Hate itself means to have intense anger or animosity towards others. That does describe what my daughter is feeling right now. As I studied this today, I realized something... we can hate things & stuff. Sin. Things of this world. Stuff, attitudes that are against God. When it comes to people, we are to love them with the same love that Jesus has. If we hate people or project intense anger or animosity toward people then the light of God does not live in us.
This was the discussion this morning on the way to school with my daughter. I even saw her face change some when it come to discussing the friend issue with her. I shared this scripture and others on hatred... and that according to 1 John 3:15 hatred is akin to murder. That murder starts with hatred towards somebody or a person.
Who is it today, that we have intense anger toward? Who is it that we hate? We are not called to hate the person... but to hate the sin. We are not called to hate the abortion doctor... but to hate the sin. We are not called to hate the poor... but to hate what is causing them to be poor. We are called to love... not a humanly love, but a love that can only come from God... especially when we are hurting.
Find somebody today that you hate, extremely dislike... and how can you show them the love of Christ today?
Created over 2 years ago
