I am a sinner in many ways, but I think one of the worst is I just hate. Maybe that is a strong word, but I definitely do not love others the way I know I should.
Sure you could blame it on Satan and that I accepted his lies or I could just take responsibility and say it is more likely due to my own actions. Do not get me wrong, Satan is a powerful adversary that few can resist him, so do not ignore the fact that he is constantly trying to get us to go against God.
If I choose to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior, then I should learn to behave the way He did. Christ loves everyone just as God does by showing them kindness, respect, and love. There is only two groups that Christ was not happy with and that is the Sadducee’s and Pharisee’s. I still think Christ loved the people in these groups, but they refused to acknowledge they were wrong. Of course there were some exceptions, but that is outside the scope of this blog.
How do you love others? Glad you asked, but this is not an easy answer. You really have to go back to how the Bible defines love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New International Version (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Is this a realistic expectation? Yes, but it is not very easy to accomplish.
I think the reasons I seem to hate people is because of how they act. People are:
- Rude
- Arrogant
- Selfish
- Mean
- Hateful
- In a hurry
- Uncaring
- Greedy
- Distrustful
Does that seem to sum up today’s people? I think so. Believe it or not, I never use to be this way. I use to be a sweet innocent boy, okay you can stop laughing now. It is true. I trusted people, I was nice, I was helpful to all, I had no road rage, I ignored people when they got mad, I did not respond to people in a hateful way, I cared about what happened to people. So why did all that change? Life and experience and I am sure some of that influence was due to Satan.
Pray that I change because I know I need too.