We can close our eyes to those that are in need, are hurt, in pain, diseased, abused, or tortured, but that doesn't make them go away. Nor does it make their brokenness heal. Ever wonder where hatred starts from? Hatred starts from within us. Each and every one of us has hatred inside us towards something or someone. Whether it be someone that caused us pain, or someone that hurt someone we love. I have heard so much that hatred is a strong word and most people just strongly dislike others. Is that really so though? Does strongly disliking someone, who they are, or what they stand for, cause a person to kill them? I believe that comes from hatred. A deep rooted, ill intentioned, down in your bones type of hatred that cannot be explained or understood. I remember in college I had to prepare a debate on pro death sentence. My stance was of, an eye for an eye; as in if someone kills my loved one, then they too must die to pay for the loss and emptiness it caused. But does that fill the emptiness inside?
Think about it please. When hate originates, it comes from somewhere inside of us. It is so consuming that we lose ourselves in it. We take on personalities of others with like minds and thoughts. We disassociate ourselves from those that love and care about us. Yet we blame them (our loved ones) for not understanding. We tell ourselves stories about no one knowing our pain and what it is we have gone through and or are going through. Which feeds into our hatred. The hatred grows. Unfortunately hate grows and grows unless it is checked at some point or is acknowledged and worked on. Unless it is controlled and monitored. We may scoff at the thought of “anger management” but why? Why is that funny to us? Doesn't most anger come from hate? Please note, I am not making a blanket statement here saying everything or nothing, all or none, and so on. I am suggesting that most of our anger develops from a sort of hate we have. It could be for a thing, a person, a type of people, a type of belief or religion, a race, a sexuality, and on and on... Are those individuals not just like us? Do they not bleed red? We may not understand them, agree with them, respect their perspectives or ideologies, but why hate them? Do we think about how much energy we lose in the process of hate? Having an idea take over our mind and body that only gets worse. Sadly enough I think some of us are simple minded enough to just go along with other people's ideas of hate. We are so in need of belonging that we are even willing to belong to something that screams hatred without giving it a second thought.
...hey you should come along to our rally against ______. Or perhaps.... do you know such and such believe this and you can't possibly be friends with them. Maybe even... if you join our movement against _______, you will be guaranteed a spot in heaven....
Is our need to be a part of something or to be accepted so strong that we would kill for it? Be able to consume so much anger and hatred to actually pull the trigger? For those of you sitting there shaking your heads while reading this, believe me: It happens every single day! More recently than others, a cardiologist from Ohio who went on a volunteer mission to a country in Asia (not even worth mentioning), was shot 11 times in front of his wife and his two year old son because he believed in a religion that so many others disagreed with and certainly disapproved of. He was on his way to a cemetery to pay his respect to the departed and became one himself. It seemed to have been a planned execution as two men on motorcycles awaited his arrival at the cemetery with guns in hand. So you tell me, is that not hatred? Do people even comprehend this part of themselves? Or is it that we develop multiple personalities at some point in our lives, and are able to block certain parts of what we do out of others. Where is the accountability? Where is the conscience mind? To be able to plan a murder, and carry it out, what exactly does it require? Will power? Drive? Motivation? Belief? ...or hatred so strong that is has a bit of all of these feelings.
My heart aches for those all around the world suffering daily from persecution based on hatred. I too am guilty. That's called honesty! I too am guilty of poking fun at, thinking little of, and just plain not liking others for one reason or another. Whether it be their clothes, how much money they have, the jobs they hold, what their lives are like... If we are truly honest with ourselves, aren't we all susceptible to this? Ever think about why the seven deadly sins are called that? Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth... Which of these sins causes one to kill? One, some or all? Which one caused the two gunmen to shoot dead an unarmed man visiting a cemetery with his wife and child?
I am simply trying to awaken our minds people. We, as in you and me, that person or this person, us together can try to make a difference. Because it all starts from within us. If we commit to ourselves to changing the way we think, then we can slowly work our way out to those close to us, who in return can work on those they are close to and so on... Isn't that the true message of our God Almighty? To spread the truth of God and His love and His mercy, and His grace, and not this hate that is all around us.
Here is my prayer for those that are in need...and it certainly includes you.
My dear Lord, please help us as we are nothing without You. Lord, You have placed us on this earth and have given us so much. Every day is a day to be thankful for. Yet there are those amongst us that listen to the devil. As always the devil is amongst us and many of us are so weak that we cannot and sometimes do not fight him. He takes over our minds and bodies and we submit willingly. Lord today I ask for Your strength! My Lord I ask that You give us Your wisdom, Your knowledge, Your understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Lord I ask that You be with us every step of the way, encouraging us on towards the right path. I ask Lord that You recover our souls and restore us from the inside out. Lord only You have the power to heal. So I ask Lord, for You to touch us all and heal us from our sickness of 'pride', 'envy', 'gluttony', 'lust', 'anger', 'greed', and 'sloth'. Lord these sins consume us. I ask that You restore us to the state You are most pleased with. Fill our hearts with Your love, and Your forgiveness Lord. Lord I specifically pray over those that have committed the sin of murder against the innocent. Lord I ask You to show them the light. I ask Lord for You to work within them so that they are so ashamed of what it is they have done and bring themselves to justice of Your law. Lord, let Your will be done on them. Let them know Lord, that You alone are God and Your grace is ENOUGH! Lord I ask that you humble us all and give us peace and comfort. Lord, bless us and keep us. Please heal us and restore us. Protect us and provide for us. Let us know that we will never be alone. That You are always with us, through the good times and bad. Let us feel Your presence within us and all around us. Let us always turn to You when we are in need, and let us all take solace in You my Lord. Amen!
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