March 1, Friday ~ Giving Up Hatred

DAY 15: Giving Up Hatred

Scripture Links:

• Psalm 86:1-17

• Matthew 5:38-48

• 1 John 2:7-21

Today, we are to give up hate, which I hope will be something that is not a new fast, but rather an enduring familiar one. Ressler published this devotional in 2015, nine years ago. We have seen a tremendous increase in hatred and finger-pointing during that time. We have seen public figures espouse hating those who have opinions different from theirs. The need to demonize those who challenge our thinking has been revitalized.  People have turned to violence to force personal agendas on others and even those who exact their judgment on people who have no voice. Those kinds of responses suck the life-giving light of Christ out of every situation, leaving darkness, despair, and doubt in their wake.

Those kinds of responses are full of hate and are not scriptural. 1 John 2:9-11 makes it perfectly clear. “9 Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves a brother or sister abides in the light, and in such a person[b] there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates a brother or sister is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

In an article in Psychology Today by Marianna Pogosyan which talks about nine insights from a study on hate. The final observation is poignant. “Hate can dissolve over time if the hated individual/group leaves your life, changes completely, or if you can work on changing the way you think about them. But don’t count on it happening from one day to another. One needs to work on the disappearance of hate, like one has to work on maintaining love.

How do you define hate? Can you recall a time when you had to confront hate or were a victim of hate? What did you do? What did you call on deep inside yourself to help you stay in the light and not ‘go to the dark side?” Is there something you learned from that confrontation that you carry with you in case you have to deal with it again?

Love is the antidote to the poison of hate but in the heat of the moment of hate, you cannot rely on your own ability to dispense love. Human love evaporates in the face of vitriolic hatred. We have to push our angry selves out of the way and let the love of God fight that battle. For me, the best way to arm myself for the battle against hatred is multivalent. It is prayer, study, fellowship and always looking for the connection or intersection of the sacred in my ordinary life. I can then stand in awe as I watch God’s love melt hearts of stone.

At any point if you are feeling overwhelmed by this content or just want to have a further discussion about the topic, feel free to contact pastormattbridges@gmail.com or wendy@encompassthespirit.com