Being Hated

Have you ever been hated? Chances are that you probably have. And for those people, who say of someone else, “No one hates ‘so-and-so.’” Well, they too probably have been hated as well. I know for a fact that I have hated some of those people myself. I don’t like saying it, but it’s true.

I have a friend who thinks everyone hates him and he makes that statement at least every time we talk. I don’t think he’s aware of his statements, and I don’t think he’s aware of the damage that kind of thinking does to someone. It might have more to do with the business he’s in than anything else. Yet for every time he berates himself I tell him that I don’t hate him, and that he is selling himself short, despite his very rough exterior. He needs the reassurement that he is liked even if he thinks of himself as a badass.

For me when I say I hate something, I am making a statement of intense dislike that my very essence has considered and has passed judgement upon. When I say “I hate fish” it is a little different than saying “I hate John.” When I say I hate a person I am making a judgment on their very character and judging it to be one I dislike because of a personality flaw that flaws the whole of his existence.

Then I read this:

Luke 6:27-36
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Too many times we pass judgment on people too fast. Are you righteous? Have you hated? Do you think you do not hate because you fulfill a requirement to “do right” to a person who does “right” to you? What happens when someone does you wrong? I hope the rest of your week can experience this first hand.