The Issue with Hate

I watched an excellent video from the amazing people at PragerU. Please give it a watch.

The issue with hate is simple. It blinds us. When we hate we make the difficult challenge of understanding others and make it pretty well impossible. It shuts down our willingness to sympathize let alone try empathize.

That wilful lack of perspective then leads to more hate. If you hate Jim, and Bob defends Jim or even does something nice for Jim, the hate bubble grows and absorbs Bob too. The bubble can grow quickly. Especially if someone comes along to blow it up for you. It can grow to encompass the whole world even.

Be willing to look for the other's perspective. Be willing to try to understand why they do what they do. You may find that they are hurting as much or more than you are. You may find that you were just wrong to begin with. You may find you were being lied to by people who wanted you to hate.

Jesus said love your enemies in Matthew 5:43-48, and in Romans 12:20 it says to show kindness to your enemies which will be like heaping burning coals on his head. Why does the Bible say these things? It is because it is a beautiful way to protect ourselves from hate and push others out of hate. When we love our enemies we are not hating. We are seeking to understand and serve them. That means our hate bubble gets popped and can't swallow the world. Then by serving our enemies we throw them into potentially terrible bouts of cognitive dissonance. If we are worthy of hate, how can it be possible for us to do nice things for them? Those two things do not go together. It will either drive them crazy or pop their hate bubbles.

So love and serve your enemies and save the world.