Hate. That’s a hard concept for me. Truthfully, I think it’s a hard concept for most of us. We find things that make us mad, things that annoy us, things that drive us crazy, and then we often justify hate. I’ll quote my kids… “I hate spiders, English… and pickles.” Yeah, we don’t quite have an accurate concept of hate.
But there’s something about the current Washington scenario that drives us crazy. All these supposedly smart people… the President… Congress… regardless of party… And they say all these disrespectful things to one another…
… “taking hostage,” “gun to the head,” “ransom,” “blackmail,” “arsonists,” oh, my…
I hate that.
I hate the hypocrisy.
It wasn’t that long ago that our country mourned the tragedy in Tucson…
Pres. Obama seemed so wise… “At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do, it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.”
Talking to each other in a way that heals…
All that seems gone now. It seems unimportant. That hurts me. Do I hate it?
As I wrestle with this concept of hate — noting that I hate hypocrisy — part of me wonders what’s actually appropriate to hate.
Deep within the historical scriptures, we find the following:
There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.
So I see the following…
Arrogance. Lies. The killing of the innocent.
A heart that plots wicked. Running to evil. Exaggeration about those lies.
And one who spreads strife among the brothers.
I think that’s what I hate so much about the current government shut down. I hate that we have persons amongst both parties — the President and Congress — who are actively spreading strife. Smart as they may be, they encourage dissension and disagreement, as they work first to win people to their side, and only then to solve the situation.
I hate this.
For the record, I also hate pickles.
Respectfully,
AR