January 29

We live in an age in which it seems the predominant emotion is hatred, and nobody is immune to it. Hatred can range from the seemingly trivial, as in “I hate it when I have to restart my computer,” to the much more serious “I hate those [fill in the blank] people! They don’t belong here! Let’s get rid of them!”

            Hatred is one of those things that should not belong in a Christian (or any other) society, yet it keeps cropping up. And the sheer negativity of the hatred is often enough to overpower its opposite, love. I think it should be reasonably clear that the God as revealed by Jesus is a God of love, and it must grieve Him when he sees so much hatred in the world.

            The Bible is also clear on what it says about hatred. 1 John 4:20 reminds us, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” And Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”

            We, as humans and, thus, as children of God, have a choice. We can either choose love or hate. And though hate may be the easier choice, it is also the path that leads to ruin. Therefore, let us choose love; it may be more difficult than hate, but the end result will be far better.