Hatred stirs up conflict / 恨先伤己
Dexu Xia
Clean the Container
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12
Today's Scripture & Insight: 1 Peter 4:7–11
“Hatred corrodes the container that carries it.” These words were spoken by former Senator Alan Simpson at the funeral of George H. W. Bush. Attempting to describe his dear friend’s kindness, Senator Simpson recalled how the forty-first president of the United States embraced humor and love rather than hatred in his professional leadership and personal relationships.
I relate to the senator’s quote, don’t you? Oh, the damage done to me when I harbor hatred!
Medical research reveals the damage done to our bodies when we cling to the negative or release bursts of anger. Our blood pressure rises. Our hearts pound. Our spirits sag. Our containers corrode.
In Proverbs 10:12, King Solomon observes, “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” The conflict that results from hatred here is a blood feud between rivaling peoples of different tribes and races. Such hatred fuels the drive for revenge so that people who despise each other can’t connect.
By contrast, God’s way of love covers—draws a veil over, conceals, or forgives—all wrongs. That doesn’t mean we overlook errors or enable a wrongdoer. But we don’t nurse the wrong when someone is truly remorseful. And if they never apologize, we still release our feelings to God. We who know the Great Lover are to “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
恨先伤己
恨，能挑启争端；爱，能遮掩一切过错。-箴言10章12节
美国前参议员艾伦 · 辛普森（Alan Simpson）在挚友乔治 · 布希的葬礼上，说：“仇恨最先腐蚀的，就是装着仇恨的器皿。”辛普森描述布希如何以爱待人时，特别提到这位美国第41任总统在其专业领导和人际关系中，展现了幽默和慈爱而非憎恶和仇恨。辛普森所说的，我也深有同感。当我心怀仇恨时，最先受到伤害的就是自己！
医学研究显示，当我们深陷于负面情绪或勃然大怒时，会严重影响身体健康，我们的血压飙高、心跳加速、心情颓丧。没错，仇恨确实能将人腐蚀。
所罗门王也察觉到“恨，能挑启争端；爱，能遮掩一切过错”（箴言10章12节）。这里的争端是指不同部落与种族相互争竞的血腥仇杀，这种仇恨会驱使人们施行报复，并使人们相互蔑视，以致无法连结。
相反地，上帝要我们以爱的方式，去遮掩、隐藏或原谅所有的过错。这并非漠视错误或放纵犯错者，但只要对方真心懊悔，我们就不该耿耿于怀；若对方毫无悔意，我们仍可向上帝倾诉感受。我们这些认识慈爱救主的人，都当“彼此切实相爱，因为爱能遮掩许多的罪”（彼得前书4章8节）。
上帝啊，帮助我降服于祢伟大的爱，
因祢的爱能遮掩一切罪恶。
求祢使我成为清洁的器皿，得以盛装祢的大爱。
什么事会让你心生怨恨？
冷酷的仇恨如何使人失去喜乐，使世界陷入纷乱？