When Hatred is The Foundation!

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all wrongs. Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense. The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor. The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death. Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. Proverbs 10:11-18 NIV

How many times do we hear people ask, "Why is there so much hatred in the land?" There are many reasons for the hatred--or rather excuses for the hatred for no one has to hate another--they simply find excuses to hate because they are devoid of love.

If we remember--only what resides in us will come out of us--we get a better understanding of why people hate--no love inside.

I listened to the news and saw the man in Portland who stabbed two people to death simply because they tried to stop his harassment of two young women. Killing out of hate wasn't enough--he stood defiant in court--spewing his hatred and what I noticed was his eyes--they were dark holes in his face, no light and certainly no love for himself. If he could not love himself, he certainly could not love others.

We cannot control what emotions people feel--only they can. I pray for all who harbor hatred and have allowed it to develop into a foundation on which their every act is determined--Lord, destroy the foundation of hate and replace it with love.

If hate is a driving force--forging the way for all we do, just imagine how much we could accomplish if we allowed love to be the driving force in our lives.

I know there are some who think because we disagree with others--and sometimes the disagreement is intense--I have never allowed disagreement to merge into hate. If a situation gets so intense that hatred might drop a seed and grow--I walk away, turn away, distance myself from the person so the hate won't stand a chance and I turn to The Lord, asking Him to fill me to overflowing with His love.

For with His Love, running over in my heart and stretching out before me--I don't have time to hate. Besides, life is so much better when love rules.

We have a right to agree or disagree with people and we also have a right to own our emotional responses to others. The responses exchanged between people are a direct reflection of what we allow to reside within us. Think about it and make sure the love within is all the world sees. And if the only response we make is one of hatefulness, we need to back up and away from others until we learn to love self (not self-centered love), but wanting the best for us and always mindful of the feelings of others.

If we do not love self--there is no love inside--we cannot love others for all we have is an emptiness that opens the door for hate. We can get a lot further in life on a tank of love instead of a tanker of hate.

Think about how you feel about self and others and note which emotion drives your actions. Don't let the foundational emotion in your life be hatred because hate destroys--you and others.