HATE: Thoughts on stopping its growth
In the recent death of Charlie Kirk with strong emotional reactions from both sides of the political aisle, my thoughts have more and more gone to the great divide in our nation — which breaks my heart. It seems to have much to do with "Hate". So I decided to investigate that word, for it seems to exist in all kinds of people — religious or non-religious. I have discovered that hate starts very small — as a hurt, an offense, a dislike, a disrespect of someone, or even a disagreement over a cause. It can then grow bigger until it seems to consume more and more of our thoughts. It seems to follow a subtle progression leading to further contempt, intense hostility, or stages of verbal aggression, disgust or ridicule. Somewhere in this process, it turns into anger creating a foothold for Satan to enter in and take root in a person's life.
Hate attempts to influence others; and when emotions become involved, it can become even greater more quickly. A person is then drawn into name calling, offensive slurs or condescending attitudes. This often leads to further humiliating others, avoiding them, or disregarding their opinions as false or fake. We can easily guess where it can lead to next. Does any of this sound familiar? Has the reader seen this progression in others — or even in themselves? The roots of hate go down deep - as deep as we choose to feed them. It can rob a person of their joy and the ability to see the good in others. It's actually a choice we make every day. I am aware that the Bible tells us to "hate evil." I wonder if that means that if we label something evil, then it must be OK to hate it? But then elsewhere it says "Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." That would indicate that there is a way out of allowing hate to grow, or better yet, to control it and drive it out.
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