Erase The Hate

Erase The Hate

12/15/19

To what extremes would humans take to complete the title of this article?  It seems like we try so many different angles yet find no true answers about how to stop this stage of choice in our lives.  It becomes disheartening to see such activities occur each day and while our eyes watch these events unfold we cannot help but wonder if we want things to be this way.  It is a constant state of turmoil that our origins were not created to live in but here we are still fighting for peace and tranquility.  The directions we pursue these answers are so far off that even new suggestions are being doused even before their consideration, but there is an answer that shall guarantee us this erasure and it is easy to obtain.  The path is small but it is a single change that changes the heart and that answer is God.  He has provided the perfect and eternal answer to this chaotic life that presents itself to us each day all we have to do is accept His Ways into our heart and our covering and peace shall overtake our lives and shine to others at the same time.

The plain and simple truth about this phrase should not be too hard to obtain for it is the greatest opinion concerning humanity that we all get along with each other.  Day in and day out on some level of our lives we do our best to disprove this unity condition that we most desire, yet our lives continue in such upheaval that overtime we begin to believe that anger and hatred for others is inevitable and that it would be easier to embrace this instead of peace and unity.  I must give some credit to those who proclaim this “Erase the Hate” phrase outwardly for their intentions and opportunities are of sound nature.  But as much as they try to erase such anger in our world it seems like they lose far greater ground then they gain and it is this place that we find so confusing and complicated to overturn.  We fail to see that through all of the human-initiated ways we fail to make any progress and then naturally lash out when those ideas and plans do not produce the intended result; but what can we expect from a process rooted in evil and hatred in the first place?

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Hebrew

The heart [is] deceitful above all things and beyond cure who can understand it?

For a while now, I have been noticing with increased frequency, bumper stickers on vehicles that have the title of this article on them.  They come in various sizes, shapes, colors with sharp and catchy designs on them and if you like or collect bumper stickers it would be a fun one to have.  And as the frequency of my eyesight catches these new popular advertisements I cannot help but believe they are useless because of what immediately comes across my new screen or computer monitor each morning, noon, and night.  It does not matter what part of the world one wishes to observe, this pattern of violent behavior toward fellow mankind far exceeds this bumper sticker's message and hope.  So much so, that the ones who so desperately end all of this ugliness in our lives are resorting to extreme measures in order to get the message of losing hate out but as stated above and many times before, how can one expect anything different from a species that is born already flawed.  I too try my best to incorporate this phrase into my life on a routine basis and this phrase and concept has a wonderful purpose and provides hope for countless people around the world.  Just this last week, this nation was driven into grief once again with the shooting events in Jersey City, New Jersey.  It was initiated by hatred toward an ethnic group by another ethnic group claiming to be superior to the targeted group.  A senseless act of cowardly actions to promote a cause or belief, a process that only could be originated and then detonated by Satan himself.  Here is the amazing thing about this “erase the hate” phrase, all of us have it in our lives and it is not selective in its inhabitance either.

I have to pose a question here concerning this topic and it is a direct question and one that hits home to my heart as well.  For as long as I can remember, the medical field has grown and its fingers have entered into almost every sector of this nation’s gross national product just due to the fact of technological advances.  It has been a national and worldly cry to cure cancer, the flu, the common cold and any other disease or syndrome process that afflicts humans.  But do we really want that to occur?  If just one type of cancer would be cured do you know what that would mean for our lives?  For those who were cured, life but for those who deal with or specialize in that specific cancer, they would lose everything.  It is this question here that is posed to our hearts about hate, how many dollars have been embedded into our lives to stir up hate and discontent against those who differ from us and are we really willing to risk our “stability” to end such nastiness?  Think about that ladies and gentlemen for it is the question God asks us in this article concerning your eternity and future placement.

So, why is the process of erasing a known stressor in human existence difficult to get rid of?  It seems like it would be the way to go and the way that all of us should strive to live but for many people that anger and offended heart cannot remove such conditions and eventually display the resulting pattern that lies deep within our heart and spirit.  While some are looking to end this hateful attitude toward others the lie continues to spread openly and outwardly with each breath we take.  Back in June of 1998, a man was tied up to the back of a truck and then dragged behind it on an asphalt road until his body had no breath left in it.  The man who was responsible for the crime itself was executed this year yet claimed his innocence of a hate crime until he too took his last breath.  Why would anyone do such a thing?  Would you believe that it is actually in our nature to be evil and to do hateful things?  Some may not like that question and some may find it repulsive to believe but it is the truth and it is the sole reason for the way we act.  The Bible says this to be a fact and in this statement, this verse also gives us the answer to our hatred problem as well.  Notice in this previous sentence that the word “answer” is singular and not plural; it is written as such because there is only One Way to obtain peace and to have a life with no hate.

Jeremiah tells us the exact condition of our hearts and how they function in this single verse.  The verse is a commanding verse yet it is also one that is so informative that God could have written this single verse as His Word and it would have been sufficient to describe our need for Him.  The verse is not a dramatic or drawn-out verse but one that goes quickly to the point and makes it clear about what the topic is.  Of all the sermons, written articles, and books produced around the world about God it is clear that the most popular message concerning God is that His Ways are pure and Holy on all levels and in every manner and that there is only One Way to achieve any kind of peace and holiness and that is by turning our hearts over to Him.  We see this once again in this verse and another Testament to who God is and what He should become in our lives.  This truth is turning, however, in a direction that is not of good value for many pulpits have incorporated human ideas in finding God and thus producing a message that includes worldly acceptance as a goal of Christianity.  ALL of these inclusions are false and represent a clear and deep picture of what this verse in Jeremiah contends.  The selfishness and wickedness of the heart cannot have any place with God and until we return to this Truth the problems that we face today will not only continue but increase in size and numbers for the foreseeable future.

The beginning of this verse uses the phrase the heart is deceitful.  That portion of Scripture alone should be ample proof that it is the heart of mankind that is the source of all our divisions and issues in life.  There is nothing good about being deceived because this word represents the ultimate betrayal that any human can do to another.  On that line, betrayal is the highest form of sin that humans can do to God as well and unfortunately, both sides of this word run parallel with each other in stature, status, complexity, and finality.  It is through this first portion of Scripture that defines exactly why all human attempts to erase the hate fail and fail miserably.  This portion states that through this definition of our heart that it is totally impossible for us to produce anything good because the next portion of Scripture goes further by saying the heart is desperately wicked.  The conjunction word “and” is the key here because it ties both acts of our heart together for our heart is both a liar and wicked in its spiritual and inner composition a grave definition that according to the Hebrew origin of this text cannot have a cure.

The actions of humans has always told history many things about what lies in our hearts at the time things occur and unravel and through the old saying that humans do not learn from history cannot ring any louder either.  When one looks at or studies history in any depth it is fascinating to read just how many things societies have to face century after century because we did not learn things the first time around.  Another phrase made popular by the cartoon figure Garfield, “hope springs eternal” also applies itself here as well because one cannot but think about this phrase when reading these old issues popping up today.  One detail that is almost always left out of these historical debates about history is God, the vast majority of historians and scholars literally beg people to change their ways yet justify the actions of historical figures and situations at the same time. All pointing to the wickedness of mankind but failing to address the truth about why they are wicked in the first place.  It totally goes against human nature to admit they are wrong and that they cannot correct issues by themselves, it is this belief that leads to further division and siding that eventually separates people from others.

The true answer also cannot be found either as long as we center our thoughts on ourselves.  But in order for us to change course and to actually resolve issues in our lives we first have to admit that we cannot accomplish these answers alone.  This verse in Jeremiah was written during a time in Israel’s history that was proving to be tumultuous at best and not during a time of peace and happiness.  The words that Jeremiah proclaimed to Israel fell on deaf ears and cold hearts the same hearts that were wayward in their beliefs yet failing to come up with answers to their problems.  You want to wage a real “Erase The Hate” campaign?  Turn our wicked hearts back to God and allow His Ways infiltrate our hearts and at the same time, we shall fall under His Son’s blood.  Until this single truth is applied in each heart that beats we shall never see any improvement in human relations.  We have set a standard and that standard shall continue in its path for it was rooted in Satan and in his kingdom, it does not matter who you are either.  You can call yourself a Christian and still produce the vilest content toward another person; it is for this reason God’s Word is the only Way to erase such hate.

Kind of hits you where it counts doesn’t it Church.  Have we personalized the Bible for our own endeavors enough that we have masked the Truth of its eternal content?  Have we watered down its message to “reach” the world so that they can be comfortable with the lies that inhabit within them?  Have we gone so far away from God that we would object to the teaching of a real sermon or street church message?  There can be no harder yet simpler truth than what Jeremiah writes in this single verse and yet these words basically mean nothing to the modern Church because we have accepted the ways of Israel and not the Ways of God.  Even though modern technology and techniques differ from biblical times our hearts do not for they are just as wicked, wretched, and deceitful ever since humans left the Garden of Eden.  Also, in these words written in Jeremiah, it is clear that the hearts of Israel had no content for God only the world.  Look at today and we can easily compare notes to both societal settings.  In truth, we have not gained much spiritual advantage since Jeremiah wrote these words from God, and we whine about “returning” back a few years when a person God elects represents our nation?

We should be ashamed of ourselves for we have no leg to stand on nor do we have any excuses for our current problems of hate.  Jesus went to the Jewish archenemy, witnessed to a woman and stayed the entire weekend, ending racial divides with the Word of His Father, why is it then we are still battling racial issues in this country alone for over three hundred years then?  It is because we do not wish to address the real issue and origin of our hateful behavior, OUR HEARTS!  Our hearts are as black as the darkness sin provides and we do not wish to change it.  In other words, Church, we are committed to the death of the world and not the life to the world.  And remember, God is a complete God and when He says He has had enough of our behavior we SHALL be included in the devastation because God allowed the finest of Israel to be destroyed in Daniel and since God cannot change...

We still have time folks to change our hearts and to once again change the world and to expose the darkness, but I have to say that our time to complete the command of Jesus is running short.  Almost every day we see signs that the end times are here and that we are preparing to see major events unfold before our eyes.  But as long as we fail to recognize what God has told us to be prepared for is not recognized by those who supposed to love Him we too shall miss what is headed our way.  God loves each and every one of us and it is not His desire to see anyone perish for eternity and have to face the second death.  Jesus has given us the commission to preach His message to every one who shall listen and to those who do not wish to listen for both sides complete the whole world.  God is the only answer to how to erase the hate and we cannot do anything on our own to overturn this rule of Satan.  It must be God who lives within us and who gives us the authoritative words that shall change this world and rid ourselves of the hate and live in holy health.

DLB