I don’t know if it is just me or what. But for some reason where ever I go and everyone I speak with, seem to be talking about “haters”. It seems like a lot of people feel like others hate them, are envious or jealous of them, just to name a few.
I am sitting here thinking to myself that I probably have the longest list of so call “haters.” I can probably count the numbers of people that genuinely love me. My list of “haters” might be long enough to go around the whole earth (in a single line). That might be a slight exaggeration but the point is that people who are against me, envy me, jealous of me, or hate me is much more than the ones who love me. That doesn’t surprise me at all because Jesus Christ himself had more haters than people who love him.
Look at it this way no matter your gender, race, age, or social status you will always have people who will hate you for various reasons. I once had someone who just hated me for no real reason. I went to this person one day and ask why she hated me so much and she didn’t even know. She said, “I don’t know why I hate you, I just do.” OK! That to me is what you call crazy.
But the Bible tells us in Matthew 5:44 - 45, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” The summary of these verses is to LOVE everyone, even those “haters.” That is a commandment from the Lord. If we are His children we ought to listen to his commandments and follow them. Yes, I know it is hard to even speak to a person that has done you wrong or that hates you. But overcome evil with good. You can’t get rid of fire by adding more fire. You will have to pour water on the fire to get rid of it. The more someone hates you-- love them.
The Bible describes love as, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. Love never fails (1st Corinthians 13: 4 – 8, NIV).” WOW! How many of us have that type of love? How many of us can love everyone, despite what they have done to us? Once again it might be hard to do but it is something we have to do.
So let us stop hating and start loving. We can do a lot by showing love.
For few weeks I thought about some of the “haters” in my life. Then the Lord showed me the verses above. I started to cry because I knew that I had to remove the bitterness I had in my heart against them, and love them. It was very hard for me to do, especially when I had flash backs of the situations. But the Lord is working with me to forget and forgive. Today, I can say I feel a lot better. I might not be completely healed but it won’t be long before I am. Every day that I forgive and forget about those bad moments, I feel so much better. People’s attitude towards me might still be the same but my attitude towards them has changed. I no longer hate them, now I can start to love them.
We have to understand that the devil sometimes use people to do things they normally wouldn’t do. There might be a person you use to be really close with and now there is such bitterness between you guys. Pray to the Lord about it, and do whatever you can to show the other person that you still love them despite what happened. Love conquers all!
It will take some time to get use to the love that was mentioned in the Bible and to fully obey the commandment. But with practice, we can do it. Every time the “haters” come into your life, just remember those verses. When someone really hurts you and you feel like telling them a piece of your mind, remember those verses. It will make a difference in your life.
I am sitting here thinking to myself that I probably have the longest list of so call “haters.” I can probably count the numbers of people that genuinely love me. My list of “haters” might be long enough to go around the whole earth (in a single line). That might be a slight exaggeration but the point is that people who are against me, envy me, jealous of me, or hate me is much more than the ones who love me. That doesn’t surprise me at all because Jesus Christ himself had more haters than people who love him.
Look at it this way no matter your gender, race, age, or social status you will always have people who will hate you for various reasons. I once had someone who just hated me for no real reason. I went to this person one day and ask why she hated me so much and she didn’t even know. She said, “I don’t know why I hate you, I just do.” OK! That to me is what you call crazy.
But the Bible tells us in Matthew 5:44 - 45, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” The summary of these verses is to LOVE everyone, even those “haters.” That is a commandment from the Lord. If we are His children we ought to listen to his commandments and follow them. Yes, I know it is hard to even speak to a person that has done you wrong or that hates you. But overcome evil with good. You can’t get rid of fire by adding more fire. You will have to pour water on the fire to get rid of it. The more someone hates you-- love them.
The Bible describes love as, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. Love never fails (1st Corinthians 13: 4 – 8, NIV).” WOW! How many of us have that type of love? How many of us can love everyone, despite what they have done to us? Once again it might be hard to do but it is something we have to do.
So let us stop hating and start loving. We can do a lot by showing love.
For few weeks I thought about some of the “haters” in my life. Then the Lord showed me the verses above. I started to cry because I knew that I had to remove the bitterness I had in my heart against them, and love them. It was very hard for me to do, especially when I had flash backs of the situations. But the Lord is working with me to forget and forgive. Today, I can say I feel a lot better. I might not be completely healed but it won’t be long before I am. Every day that I forgive and forget about those bad moments, I feel so much better. People’s attitude towards me might still be the same but my attitude towards them has changed. I no longer hate them, now I can start to love them.
We have to understand that the devil sometimes use people to do things they normally wouldn’t do. There might be a person you use to be really close with and now there is such bitterness between you guys. Pray to the Lord about it, and do whatever you can to show the other person that you still love them despite what happened. Love conquers all!
It will take some time to get use to the love that was mentioned in the Bible and to fully obey the commandment. But with practice, we can do it. Every time the “haters” come into your life, just remember those verses. When someone really hurts you and you feel like telling them a piece of your mind, remember those verses. It will make a difference in your life.
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