A WORD FOR TODAY, June 16, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 16, 2025
“This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10, WEB
Hate. Hate is an unfortunate symptom of our broken world. Too many people are acting out their hate in verbal and violent ways. Spend a few minutes reading the comments on any political or religious post on social media, and you will see hate. Watch the news and you’ll see disturbing videos of people acting out their hate. People are being murdered on the street and bombs are flying because of hate. Sometimes we hate our neighbors for understandable reasons, although our response speaks about the state of our own hearts. We are hated for understandable reasons, too. We don’t like to think about it, but we are all sinners and we do things that hurt others.
Unfortunately, we are often guilty of the very things for which we hate our neighbors. We think we are looking at them as if through a window, but the reality is that it is more like a mirror. We see our own imperfections reflected in others, hating our own sinfulness, but attaching it to others. You’ve heard it said, when you point a finger at someone, you are pointing several back at yourself. All too often when I hate that someone has cut me off on the highway, I realize that I did the very same thing to someone else.
Hate has led to some horrific events. And those events lead to more hate. People easily assign blame to large groups of people because one person did something that reveals hate. Hate begets hate. Blame begets blame. The truth is, most often when we begin to hate someone for something, it is because our conscience holds us guilty of the same hate that we see in them.
I’d like to say that I don’t hate anyone. I surely don’t hate those that some would accuse me of hating. However, I do struggle with hate. We all do. I would be lying if I said I did not hate anyone; we all would be lying if we said we do not hate. However, I do not hate the way the finger-pointers claim I hate. See, hate is a human emotion that plagues all of us. Oh, the majority of people do not hate so much that we would cause an extreme or horrific event. We don’t take our hate and act upon it in violent or extreme ways. But can any one of you honestly tell me that there is absolutely nothing in this world, or nobody, that you strongly disliked? I think it is truer now than it has been for a long time.
“Well,” I hear many of you saying, “I really hate Brussels sprouts, but that’s different.” You are right, there is a difference between hating a vegetable and hating a neighbor or an enemy. However, the fact that you hate the vegetable should make you pause a moment to consider that you are capable of hate. Now, take it a step further. Brussels sprouts may not be an enemy, but you avoid them, don’t you? Take that thought a step further: is there anyone in your life that you have chosen to avoid? Is there anyone who has done something to you that makes you say, “I don’t need that in my life?” Anyone on social media has probably unliked or unfollowed someone because they have said something that is not in agreement with our point of view. It is better to separate than to allow someone’s hate to beget hate in our lives. Oh, I’m sure you can say, “I love that person, but...” That “but” is the very point of this devotion. We love because that is what God expects of us, but in our hearts we do not always love.
We define hate as intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury, but hate is simply, “a very strong feeling of dislike.” Be honest, isn’t there something or someone for whom you have a very strong feeling of dislike? I don’t hate the driver that cuts me off or the person I unfollow on social media, but I will honestly say that I hate so much that I see happening in our world today that I find myself having to remove myself from it. I hate that some people thinks the best way to deal with their hate is to cause some horrific event.
The Old Testament understanding of “hate” is this: “hate can be active, as an enemy or adversary; or passive, as someone unloved or shunned.” This is what we see in the story of Isaac and Esau. Paul wrote in Romans, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” God did not hate Esau as we might define it; it would be better rendered, “Jacob I chose; Esau I rejected.” Now tell me that you have never rejected anyone. Does that mean you would respond by choosing violence? Of course not, most of us know that we are called to deal with our neighbors with lovingkindness, even those whom we have chosen to exclude from our lives.
Hate separates and divides. I wish I could love everyone with a complete and real love, as Jesus loves me. I hope I hate less today than I did yesterday. I try to love as Jesus loved me, but I fail. I am human and I am a sinner. I live in a broken world, and I separate myself from the things and people whose actions beget hate in my life. I don’t want to be unloving, but when I can’t love as God loved me, the most loving thing I can do is step out of the way.
How do we stop hate? This is the question that is asked every time something horrific happens, but I wonder if it is the right question. We can’t legislate people to stop hating. We can’t force them to stop hating. The reality is, we can’t even convince them to stop hating. Human beings, in our sinful, perishable flesh living in a broken world, will hate whether it is active or passive. The key here is to remember that we are all sinful human beings, seeing in others the very things we should see in ourselves. God calls us to confess our sin and let God make things right according to His good and perfect love.
We might think we can force a love that is not real, but in doing so we stand in darkness and keep others in darkness. But by confessing the truth and stepping aside, we give room for God’s Light to shine, not only for the others, but also for ourselves. When we confess our sin and trust that God will be faithful to His promises, we see the light and remember to walk in it. In His light, we can love our enemies and do what is good and right. We might all hate in one way or another, but as we walk in the light, we are much different than those who respond with violence because with God’s help and through His grace we can respond with the lovingkindness that flows from His love for us.
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