Fueled by fear, the caldron of hate is overflowing. Hate has invaded our homes, our schools, and even our workplace, even the church was not exempt. There is so much talk about hate, it seems as if it suddenly made its appearance on life’s stage. Hate speech, hate crimes, we are bombarded by the media with shaped conversations that trigger our emotions. Once triggered, our emotions are shaped, focused, and controlled. It is an inconvenient truth but, knowingly or unknowingly we are being played as Pawn in a high-stake Chess game.
The definition of hate has evolved over the ages, and this evolution should force the bible students to look for the true meaning when interpreting the Word of God rather than accepting the imponent position that all hate is wrong and must be stamped out. Hate and love are opposites. Bible scholars have long agreed that there are different types of or shades of love, the same rule should be applied to hate.
Sadly there is a great divide when it comes to understanding, accepting, and applying the word of God. As a people, we have become accustomed to skilled Expositors shaping the Word of God to fit humanity's condition rather than the “Will of God”. This fluid interpretation of the Bible has empowered critics to define the Bible as a "RACIST HOMOPHOBIC" book. A presidential candidate once said the Bible has no place in a modern and "INCLUSIVE' society. Led by the "ETHNIC And CULTURE DIVIDE" a deafening roar of approval erupted across the countryside and religion was defined as a tool used to control the mass.
The attack on the Bible was merely a rallying
point, the objective was to weaken the message the churches of old was
projecting to the communities and destabilize a country in the process.
Many of our schools and churches are became indoctrination centers. Jesus
said in Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee because thou
hast left thy first love”. We wittingly or unwittingly have ascribed
to a set of values that placed no value on our existence, and in the process,
we have spawned a generation that is easily TRIGGERED and willing to kill or be
killed over a simple misspoken word.
Before engaging in a shooting spree at his
school a fifteen-year-old sophomore wrote, "my life is useless, the world
is dead." What would cause a young man to entertain this negative
outlook on life? initially, there will be a rush to find the root cause
of this malady, but the search for the cause will be cast aside as we proclaim
that justice has prevailed.
An internet search as to the meaning of hate provided me with the following information. To hate is to detest, abhor, abominate, loathe, which means to feel strong aversion or intense dislike for. hate implies an emotional aversion often coupled with enmity or malice. Hating the enemy with a passion suggests violent antipathy.
With this type of definition in mind, it is no wonder the modern-day religious right ecstatically proclaim, “I don’t hate nobody” a truncated version of what the ancients spiritual that once proclaimed, “I don’t hate nobody, IN MY HEART.” It would appear that the ancient believers knew how or what to hate. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13)
The Bible which is the foundation of the dissertation seems to hold a different definition of hate. It does not provide us with a clear “English” definition of the word, but relying on the usage of the English word, hate seems to hold certain attributes that are essential to Christian living. There are numerous references to God expressing his hatred. “And I hated Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.” (Malachi 1:3)
“I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them, mine enemies.” (Psalms 139:22) In the Scriptures, the word “hate” can have several shades of meaning. The type of hate denotes a strong dislike but without the intent to bring harm. Perfect hate will make one want to avoid the object of hate because they feel loathing toward it. As a driver I hate potholes, but I am not obsessed with this hatred. If I can do anything to resolve the problem I will do it, if not I will live with it.
Hate may denote intense hostility, sustained ill will often be accompanied by malice. Hate with malice is the worst kind. This kind of hate may become a consuming emotion seeking to bring harm to the object of such hate. It is also contagious. In a home setting, this type of hatred can spread from a parent to a child causing unexpected adverse reactions.
The Bible also uses the word “hate” to mean loving to a lesser degree. “If any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) Did Jesus mean that we should literally hate our family; or even ourselves. No! he was pointing out what was most important. Our love for being a disciple of Jesus Christ should override selfish desires or the desire to put our family first. Serving as a footstep follower of Jesus is more important than anything else in a true Christian’s life.
Is it okay for a Christian to
hate? Yes, lovers of God are expected to hate; as this verse points out: “Ye that loves the LORD, hate evil: he
preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the
wicked.” (Psalms 97:10) “Consider mine enemies; for they are many,
and they hate me with cruel hatred.” (Psalms 25:19)
In
today’s society, we have definitions of hate and hate speech that has been
rendered illegal. There are hate crimes
and they are punishable to a higher degree. Now that we have all of these laws
to protect us from hate we should be able to coexistence in a peaceful manner,
right? Wrong, all of this is an illusion; these laws are less effective
than the laws created to protect us from drugs and guns. What society has
accomplished is the creation of a platform that promotes hate.
Hate
is nothing new, it has existed since the beginning of time. It is like a
persistent weed struggling to grow in the shadows of a giant Oak. Left alone it
will remain but it will not flourish. If we expose it to the light of day it
will flourish and soon the field will be filled with weeds.
The
transformation of hate has followed the same path that other beneficial
elements guided by the hands of humanity have become toxic. Anthrax is a case
study it can be found naturally in soil, left alone it poses no great threat to
humanity. The vast knowledge of good and evil has allowed humanity to refine
and process it into a deadly poison. The refining of Anthrax into a pure
powered state allows for weaponization thru the ease of contamination. left
alone in its natural state Anthrax would not be the problem that it is today.
Weaponization is to adapt for use as a weapon. Humanity had produced and weaponized many deadly biological agents, including anthrax. These agents were no threat to humanity until they were refined and a delivery system was created. A delivery system for the spreading of hate was created to attack a person or ethnic group and the overall objective was to spread discord. Labels such as homophobic, racist, Islamophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic rhetoric to name a few are said to be the result of hate. Most appropriately these labels are the weapons of hate. The application of these labels is destructive. Calling a person out does not change that person. If there is hate it forces the person to act on his hatred or it forces the suppression of hate. Forced suppression of hate is of the worst kind, it knows no boundaries, it takes on supernatural abilities. The effect of this type of hate will spread and even reach out and cause a child to pick up a gun.
Before engaging in a shooting spree at his school a fifteen-year-old sophomore wrote, "my life is useless, the world is dead." What would cause a young man to entertain this negative outlook on life? initially, there will be a rush to find the root cause of this malady, but the search for the cause will be cast aside as we proclaim that justice has prevailed.
Hate
with malice is the destructive force that has torn this country apart.
Hate with malice is a troubling spirit; it knows no boundaries and accepts no
controls. Like a virus, it is contagious, once introduced into a home or group
destruction usually follows. Add malice to the hate we expressed regarding a
political figure or even our employer and it will take root and spread to those
we come in contact with and grow. We have no control over how it will manifest
itself. Hate has the capabilities of masquerading as what it is not and for
this reason, it is often given a pass.
Hatred is the reason for family friction, conflicts with neighbors and fellow workers, national turmoil, ethnic strife, religious wars, and international catastrophes. It is hatred that daily kills millions in acts of vengeance and it is hatred that led to hundreds of millions of deaths in devastating wars throughout time.
Hatred is a work of the flesh. Hatred is what drives Satan and his demons. Hatred is what drives the multitudes of nations. Hatred is pulling great numbers of families apart.
Two people attending a funeral shot and killed each other because they disagreed on who or what caused the price of gas to increase. Many can see the darkness on the horizon, there are wars and rumors of wars, parents are killing their kids and children are killing their parents and each other. A woman in Phoenix was arrested after police say she killed her two young daughters by forcing them to overdose on medications. The signs of the time clearly state, “We don’t have long to be here.” Some pray for the intervention of God, but there is the question of why should he. "We have killed all of the sacred cows."
