Hate hate

“But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.” Jeremiah 7:8 NIV

This is not a political statement about my views on our current situation. I think nearly all people would denounce police brutality. I think nearly all people would denounce racism. Nearly all people would denounce riots. But I have been thinking a lot today.

I saw protestors in my little town yesterday. We had peaceful groups with no violence. I drove past the last group of three protestors late in the day and saw some irony. A college aged girl was standing with her arm straight up, fist clenched. Her skin was white like mine. The look on her face was anger. I actually imagined her confidently thinking “I am changing the world.” Maybe she will. I am 57 years old, I often think I am far too small to change anything.

Across the street on the same corner was the street dancer, Aaron. He has been there every day for maybe a year or more, whether anyone has noticed or not. He dances in all weather. I have never seen him look angry or even neutral, always joyful. His skin is darker than most of our city. His hair is long. He looks different, and he dances almost 24 hours a day. The police have been called about him. He has had all kinds of looks. But he dances because he feels that he has been called to do so. His dance is worship to God. But at that time on that day, he was the only one who had faced discrimination for having dark skin (although I am sure those three young ladies have also faced things I cannot relate to).

I ended up thinking about times when someone has died while trying to change something or trying to lead a cause. It got me thinking, in many cases, when the champion of the cause dies, so does the cause. I realize there are some exceptions to this.

The greatest exception is the death of Jesus Christ. He died to save me. Me specifically. More importantly, He came back after His death. If you are not a believer, I beg you to do the research. Read the bible. Honestly open your heart for one second and ask Him if He will fill it. He will. The death of Jesus made Christianity explode. It is still expanding even today. But it faces challenge.

I think we are staring at a time when Satan himself has caused us to turn hate into normal. We may hate for what we think is a good reason: murder, racism, crime, among others. But think about it, we are not called to not hate. If we reach a point where we have zero hate, we have really only reached indifference. Neutral. We are not called to this. We are called to go beyond that, all the way to love. Everyone. Both sides of the intersection. The victim. Even the officer (not what he did, him). White. Black. All. That’s a big order. We have a bigger Savior.

God does not dish out hate, only love. Satan cannot dish out love, only hate. Even with the right motivation to start, if we plant hate in ourselves, we are planting our own destruction. I expect inconsistency from the world. But I see believers arguing about slogans regarding which lives matter. What? As a believer if that is all we have to offer, we have nothing. If that argument is present, we are still only speaking in a language of the presence or absence of hate. Not good enough. We are called to love.

I am not saying that we should accept everything that happens. I am not saying that all things are hopelessly far from being changed. I think we can change. What I am saying, is that if we deal from hate to accomplish it, we are in an unwinnable battle. We have been tricked into fighting the wrong enemy.

If we plant our hope on being able to achieve perfection here, we have lost. If we plant our hope on any human to fix things, we are lost. If we honestly believe that one political party is evil while the other is good, we are lost, and so are the people who thing the exact opposite of any political party. Perfection, while admirable, cannot be achieved here.

The one and only way for us to find true peace - in spite of death - in spite of war - in spite of hate – in spite of anything, rests in the arms of the same Jesus who died and then came back. If we miss that, nothing we can champion here will matter. If we truly accomplish that, nothing we cannot change here will stop us from casting out hate to make room for love.

What do you do when you are mad as hell about current events?

In whom do you place your trust?

Challenge: Love. Hope. Be a witness. Pray like a warrior, we are in a fight.

Rick Claiborn