Feeling Hate

Feeling Hate

12/2/16

This emotional status is thrown around almost on a second by second basis these days but throughout history, we have the confidence that this feeling is nothing new to societal living.  It is this point that we should step back and take a hard look at what the origins of this word mean and what it states against others and to God.  All of us become upset at times in our lives, but when we choose to take this anger to another level and physically present it to others it is at this point when we provoke the actions of our enemy and invite his destructive presence to be exemplified.  God did not intend for His Church to act in such a manner but to present a steadfast and humble difference from what the world offers.  It is time to stake a stand against such wickedness before our enemy further grabs the upper hand and our lives change so drastically that God has to intervene in His own special way.

A few days ago the world received the news that one of the longest tenured leaders of a nation had passed away.  Fidel Castro came to fame back in the early to mid-1950s and sprang a revolution in a small Caribbean island known as Cuba.  Up until his fighters took control of the country Cuba was a thriving and bustling nation that accepted all who wished to inhabit that exotic and tropical island.  If people wanted to go to church they had plenty of options, if they wanted to dance the night away in one of the many clubs they could do this activity as well.  The island was a paradise and a popular spot for vacationers and other regional tourists at all times of the year.  Did the island community and nation have problems?  Of course, it did but just as any other free society it dealt with its problems and handled their affairs accordingly.  But those ideas and ways of life changed once Castro and his communist overseers took control of the island and swept themselves into power in a bloody revolution.

The lives of thousands of people on that island drastically changed overnight when Castro took over and with this coup the western hemisphere began to watch as many of those who opposed this new regime lost their lives through captivity, torture, and execution which spread a level of terror and fear throughout everyone who remained on the island.  Over time these inhabitants learned what to say and what not to say when asked and for the most part lost all freedom to speak their hearts due to the confines of the new leader of their land.  Fidel Castro passed away this last week and the feelings of those directly involved in his affairs finally had the opportunity to be expressed.  The Miami streets became a public dance hall with thousands of Cuban Americans lignin up to vent decades of frustration to the world which up until then they had to pin up because of possible threats and consequences of their families still remaining in Cuba.

As I watched these people sing, shout and dance with released angered joy I could not help but think about another issue that many of them were not thinking about at that moment.  There is no question at all that Fidel Castro was a brutal dictator over innocent people and that he had countless lives on his hands throughout the years of his leadership.  In humanity terms, he brought a suppressed life to many of his people and almost brought the world into another nuclear-aged war that would have changed the entire world and its setting.  But this man had plenty of opportunities to change his heart and to accept Jesus as his Savior and to have a personal relationship with Him which would have changed his heart and changed the course of thousands of lives as well.  Did any of us pray for his heart so it might change and turn to God or did we allow our anger of humanity rule the day?

But what is important is that while Fidel Castro may have a Catholic funeral and have many priests, bishops, an archbishop or two and a cardinal preside over his service, it does not mean that he made things right with God before he took his last breath and it is this aspect of Castro’s life that I have concerns with because if he did not make things right with God then he is now spending eternity in hell never to be reached by God again.  I am not being sympathetic about his actions and deeds by any means, but even Jesus went up to the Jews’ arch enemies and witnessed to them and then held a revival when they agreed to His presence.  Jesus found a way to witness to enemies and don’t you believe that we should have the same heart as He did?  And do we understand that when we witness to those who do not believe in the truth about God will have a negative reaction to this process?  I am not saying everyone will react violently but a good portion of them will, and I would not be surprised if some ears around you that are not part of the conversation have a say in your words as well; yes, it is that important of a concept.

Instead, it is obvious that we have chosen the same path of celebrating our own divisions by implementing a terror word or phrase called hate.  I cannot help but believe that when I was watching and reading about these people dancing in the street about Castro’s death that they were celebrating his hate and their hate together.  And through this word or phrase we have created a society in which if someone comes up to us that has a different opinion than ours, we flare up and place this word and its meaning into motion instead of dialoguing with them and seeing if there is any common reasoning as to why such differences occur.  Jesus could have easily done this when He approached the woman at the well, and if actions of the disciples say anything they probably would have reacted in such a divisive manner if it was them who presented at the well first.  Can we say that we have acted like the disciples or Jesus in this example?

Do you know where the concept of hate began?  Do you know who began this concept and why?  The definition of hate is as follows: an intense or passionate dislike for someone or something.  The definition itself describes a process of infiltration and not an immediate substance of a displayed emotion.  Hatred is a vile word that displays a timed condition that has reached a point of no return and thus has to act accordingly in order to properly express its meaning.  This type of pinned up condition seems to have been directed at a particular source stemming from some type of action against this person, entity, or nation.  And there is your answer about where the origin of this feeling lies, it comes from our eternal enemy and it is specifically addressed in God’s Word almost right from the start.

In the book of Genesis, we have a setting in which God has created the world and the human representation of His perfect will. Within a few chapters we find that the humans are being tempted – successfully – and thus bringing a new status for everyone else that follows in their existence.  All life from that point onward knows a cycle that includes death and a return to the ground. Why did Satan not target animals or plants?  Why did he stop here?  These are questions that go back to his origins and what occurred long before humans ever existed.  Here is a vital statement that needs to be understood for it is a continuous cycle that we are living through today.  Lucifer’s desire to be like God and his subsequent loss of position and blessings are now acted upon through his actions of the results of his rebellion which comes in the form of hate against the One who created him in the first place.  Through this definition alone it makes sense as to why the people from that point in time follow the patterns of hate as they do, for it is a natural pattern through the origin of sin in our lives through the origin of sin in Lucifer’s life.  And guess where this level of hate came from, Lucifer’s ideology of entitlement.

There is nothing good about the word hate and the accompanying results that it brings into existence.  Hate only divides and tries to conquer the divided party, there is no togetherness what-so-ever for even the “victorious” party has been divided from its completeness.  Do you display your aggressions towards people who you know that do not agree with you?  This election cycle has demonstrated this process quite clearly and instead of trying to heal the wounds that are festering we are cutting them wider and deeper and spilling the blood of this country in total disregard of our livelihood.  It is this portion of our actions that we do not recognize of what exactly we are doing for we have been blooded before and it also is clear that we have not learned from this past letting and exposure.  We also do not realize that this action of hate comes from our eternal enemy and it is through his origins that we are contributing to our own demise.

How powerful is this concept of hate and how far does it penetrate our being?  We need to look no further than our spiritual enemy for his hatred towards God and the things that God had above him set the tone for eventually cost Lucifer his position in heaven and his eternal banishment from God’s Kingdom.  It infiltrated Lucifer so much that he was blinded by his own hate for he knew that he could not defeat God but tried to make his own rules equal towards God’s rules and thus automatically forgot what the consequences would be.  Do you think that God would allow such a rebellious spirit live among the righteous and serving angels and other spiritual principalities?  God could not for if He did then He would fall into the same trap that Lucifer did and thus render all perfect existence null and void on His level.

There was no glory in what God had to do when Lucifer decided to rebel, for God was losing a great deal of His angelic army but it was their choice to do so and through this action, God had to allow things to play out according to Lucifer’s selfish wants. One of the largest issues we have today is that we have forgotten who gave us the blessings of this nation and why we were given them, it is not because we deserve them but it is because in our nation’s founding we were placed here in order to provide a dying world the Word of Salvation and through this belief provide the blessings of God at the same time.  Are we demonstrating this command of ours to a dying world?  No way!  We have instead joined the world in its evil practices and have adopted anger and hate towards our command, even people who claim to be Christians have jumped on this destructive bandwagon and the results of this choice are proving to be devastating.

Our eternal enemy is a spirit and has an infinite yet limited authority on hate in which he will use on you to promote his kingdom.  It is through the doors that you open that allow him access to your life and it is these doors that we need to shut so that we can once again fight him on a level playing field.  As long as we have these doors open to hate there shall be no way possible that we can have any contention for peace and unity.  Only fake emotions can be generated from this type of living standard and many of us who are living in this way are totally blind to our gradual downward trend in the conditions of life itself.  In God, there cannot be any hate possible towards mankind this is the policy of God.  Our only problem is that we have tried to mingle God’s Kingdom in with Satan’s kingdom and tried to define this word on these terms; this cannot work because God cannot share space with Satan.

It saddens my heart to watch Christians debate those who do not know the truth about God with foul and ill-tempered spirits because they themselves do not know how to combat spiritual warfare.  These encounters only cause deepening wounds to those who question but receive nothing but anguish for answers due to the eternal rift that is already in place.  If we do not care for these individuals through Christ’s love there will be no way that we shall ever bridge the gap through the One Bridge that can complete this task.  The world’s definition of love and hate are strictly based on words coming from a bitter and defeated spirit who lost his argument with God and retaliating in the only way he knows.  Church, you have an identity problem and until you recognize this breach with God there will not be any way possible for you to win people to God.  Your congregations may increase but who cares!!  A preacher can have a congregation of 5,000 members but be spiritually lost due to the lack of understanding and knowledge about God’s Word.  And in today’s setting, the philosophy is that if you are bigger than means you are better, correct? 

It is a wondrous thing when we see people challenge those who stand up for God and use His Word accurately and authoritatively.  When I see people justifying their own ways through the Bible I ache and groan because I know that they are being fooled by the father of lies.  God’s Word is supposed to divide and it is supposed to separate those who believe in His Word, for it must be recognized that God cannot cohabitate with the world; however, we have come to the belief that we are far superior over others, and through this status of ours can talk down to or demean those who do not know God.  An important detail here to keep in our hearts, it is through this action of superiority that we are actually demonstrating Satan’s hate even though we are proclaiming a different tune. 

We are correct in the fact that it is our duty to reach the lost but there is no way to accomplish this if we approach them with a divisive attitude and spirit.  Jesus found ways to talk to His cultural enemies and to resolve century-long debacles of division in just minutes.  It is in this servitude that we must approach those who are living in sin and it is in this servitude that we present the Gospel of Christ to these people.  They need to see our lives in Christ living in His Word and not through our own.  We also need to remember that those who live in the world will always react to the spirit of forgiveness for it is this spirit that Satan cannot have or accept and therefore it shall be the “natural” reaction of one who has the potential to escape this eternal death trap.

One last frightening and dangerous point to make is that hate usually comes from those who have something and displays it towards those who do not.  This attitude is evident in our society today but it needs to be recognized for what it is and who brings it into our lives.  Satan was the second highest ranking angel in heaven and was created for such a position by God.  It is unimaginable to think about what he gave up in order to try his luck against God, yet when we do think about that day we must remember that he lost everything that was his in heaven.  And when he looks at all of the blessings that we have been given of course he is going to retaliate at his best in order for us to lose the same blessings that he once knew.  Our minds cannot fathom everything about heaven but from what we do know about it there are some pretty extraordinary living conditions there.  We also have a great picture that is painted for us here as well when it comes to the spirit of hate, how it infiltrates our lives, and what the consequences are of that hate.  Look at all of the issues people had to go through in the Bible, look at all of the historical societies in the world that have been in existence, look at all of the societies of today and especially look at your own society. 

Every single mentionable individual and nation has reasons to hate another for countless reasons.  If one takes a hard look at those instances it becomes clear that many of them failed to recognize the origins of hate, whether it was against them or from them.  But it was through this word that all of their issues arose and then played out.  Each historical setting had a choice to make and most of them decided to take the worldly way of resolving those issues and in every case when this choice was made, devastation occurred and the results only divided and produced further and deeper hatred for others.

I pray that none of us have to face the realities of hate and what the overall meaning of this word intends for us to live.  God has provided us a way out of this mess if we only accept Him and His Ways in our lives.  When I read about all of these people going around using this word’s definition to obtain their way it breaks my heart for they do not know what they are advancing. These people are lost and need Christ in their lives.  On the other side of the aisle, there are people in this nation and even in my little community that call themselves Christians but they too display the definition of hate.  God loves each and every one of us but we cannot share this Love with anyone until we first share it completely with God, on His terms and not ours.  The next time you want to use the word hate, remember its origins and the context of the word that you are about to pour over someone or something.  Hate is a powerful word that carries a lot of weight both of which is against the person using the word and to the receiver of the word.

It is a choice of ours to hate and through that choice comes the consequences of such a condition.  God does not want hate in our lives but He also knows who originated that word and everything that fulfills its definition.  God must allow choice into our lives because if He did not then He would not be an all-sovereign God and an all loving God, He would be a slave master. Church, God is calling you to repent and to live in the freedom of this world.  God is also re-commissioning His people to fulfill His Son’s command to go into the world and preach the Gospel and to teach His truth.  Let the world hate for that word is its definition, but shed light onto that definition and allow God to show His Love eternally.

DLB