Give Me Someone to Hate

I suppose that’s a bit of an inflammatory title, so let me explain what I mean…

It feels good to hate.  There is a certain satisfaction, a certain release, when we can hate a person (or group of people).  There is a pacifying simplicity that we enjoy when we can focus this desire on some object of our wrath, without having to consider a whole load of nuance and perspectives not our own.

What do you think about that?  Is my use of the term “hate” too strong?

Perhaps a few readers might sadly acknowledge this assertion.  Others might discern a growing offense in themselves to the very idea.  I understand.

But, I have observed this to be a painful admission in my own life and a treasure that I have not easily been willing to surrender.  It is a note that has been difficult to hear in my heart – but it’s there.

In my journey through ideas, I have wandered the extremes of the political spectrum.  I have experienced the joy of hating “those conservatives” and the joy of hating “those liberals.”  I have protested causes that demonized people who deserved to be demonized – but I enjoyed hating those people, nonetheless.

Before I was a Christian, I enjoyed hating “those Christians.”  As a Christian, I have enjoyed hating “those atheists,” “those compromisers,” “those wolves in sheep’s clothing.”  As an American, I have hated any number of “enemies” – and I have enjoyed that too.

Do you resonate at all with my confession? 

Perhaps some would object by insisting, “The objects of my attack deserve it – I have the correct morality and they do not, but I don’t call that hatred.”  Maybe others would say, “I am simply engaging in conversation – I have a right to speak my mind and my vitriol merely reflects the urgency of the matter…but this is not hatred.”

I have heard myself offer up those justifications too.  But… 

Years ago God showed me that what I really wanted was to hate someone.  I don’t mean I was cruel to people around me – I wasn’t, for the most part.  I never physically hurt anyone as a result of my hatred of them – but I still hated them.  I even had legitimate concerns about some of the objects of my scorn; many of them were involved in things that were wrong.  But justifying my hatred as some form of righteousness ultimately didn’t wash – God showed me my heart. 

Jesus equated this kind of hatred with murder.  I used to think He was very disconnected from reality, but His charge has been borne out again and again in the conviction of my own heart and my observations of the world.  The Bible says that the heart is incredibly deceptive – far more than we are aware.  I have found this to be a miraculous, if disturbing, insight.

Discovering that my “righteousness” was really hatred devastated me.  I could have despaired.  But in His mercy, God drew me back to the Bible’s claim that Jesus understands my weakness, my desire to hate – and His death has paid for it.  If it were not for that, where would I be?  Would I still be struggling to justify my venomous onslaughts against this or that “evil” person or group of people? 

So, where are you? Are you convinced that your political or religious or patriotic rantings are really just expressions of your righteousness?  Or, could there be hatred in your heart also?  Even if you do see hatred there, can you hear yourself whispering justifications for it?  Is there another voice convincing you that this brand of hatred is something less than that which Jesus described?

I am persuaded that we all suffer from this hatred – no one escapes it.  But when you see it – if you see it – know that there is a Savior who paid a heavy price for it.  And in confessing this discovery to Jesus and trusting in His sacrifice for you, He will forgive you for that hatred.  And begin to deal with it.  And free you from it.

He did that with me. 

This doesn’t mean that everything is okay – that I no longer care about important things.  There is still injustice in this world.  There are still important arguments to be made.  There are still causes to pursue.  But as Jesus purifies my heart, I am motivated far less by that enslaving, embittering hatred common to us all.  I am increasingly freed to rejoice in the midst of my battles – and to grow in an understanding of what He meant when He commanded me to love my enemies.  I even find I have ever fewer “enemies.”

He can do that with you too.  And that is my prayer.

______________________ 

Scott Maurer is Lead Pastor of West City Fellowship in Arlington, VA – www.westcityfellowship.com 

If you'd like to comment or follow this blog, please see the Wordpress version at http://mostimportantquestion.wordpress.com/