Into the Fire

I use the word “hate” far more than I should about incidental things I probably don’t hate. It’s not a word I should use as lightly as I do. I don’t mean it most of the time.

The reason I capitalized today’s title is because I received a couple of comments from the same individual to my Memorial Day post (“To Our Soldiers of Freedom”) which depicts unadulterated hatred. Hatred toward the USA, toward our people, toward our President, toward anything and anyone associated with the “west”. So if you are of the persuasion that hatred is not alive and well across this world and even in our own country, I would like to direct you to these comments. This individual googled “soldiers of freedom” and somehow selected my blog entry from the multiple choices to investigate. Obviously, this person was so incensed by my love and defense of my country and our military, they had to write a scurrilous and hateful comment which I confess I was tempted to delete. I did do a bit of editing.

I don’t want to get into politics here today, but if you have any affinity with this individual and/or his comments, you need to do a serious gut check. This country is not without fault. As Christians we see those things more clearly than most, and we grieve over the direction of sin in this country. As individuals and corporately we do what we can to represent and live for God, showing mercy and forgiveness, but standing up to those sins we can overcome, knowing each of us will struggle with the death-grip of sin until we meet our Savior face to face.

I found it interesting that this post-er accused the USA of destroying morality and mentioned as better places the countries of Sweden or Switzerland. I visited Sweden many, many years ago as a naive 20 year old. I was flabbergasted when I saw a rack of pornographic postcards for sale out on the sidewalk in front of a “regular” business. Europe has been practicing immorality long before the United States got good at it. And as for Switzerland’s neutrality—they might not have fought for anyone’s freedom, but they obviously have taken sides and money from rogue nations in their international banking community.

Hatred comes from blurred vision. We don’t see through the eyes of reality when we hate. Am I tempted to hate the individual who posted on my fairly inoffensive blog? I suppose I am. But I was strangely void of anger when I read the ugly words. A hint of fear passed through me—I’ll admit that—because of the vitriol, the intensity of such palpable hatred. Wow. Although a lot of Christians concur offhandedly, depending on their personal experiences with such things, that this kind of evil exists, they downplay it. Ask a black person if they’ve experienced it, and more than likely you’ll get a yes. The tragedy of such rage is sorrowful. The hatred is borne of ignorance, arrogance, and intolerance and a refusal to understand anyone or anything who doesn’t comply with a certain belief system. It can’t be called a standard because it has no basis in truth. It is a product of the most evil one, Satan, the father of lies, the author of confusion—the one who taunts and terrifies and truly HATES.

“Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world.”

If you think we don’t fight a real enemy, you’re deluding yourself. He has somehow managed to capture the hearts and minds of actual people all across this world, and they will do anything to reign over us with terror and destruction. You would do well to take them seriously.

Father, you are the only one who supplies and embodies and defines truth, peace, love, and forgiveness in their purest forms, accessible to anyone who turns away from the treachery of darkness and sin and asks for your divine forgiveness. Why does anyone want to resist such kindness when it is so undeserved by all of us? I love you, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.