Tag Archives: hate

Disposition

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Matthew 5:21-22

I’m using Oswald Chambers, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount; God’s Character and the Believer’s Conduct, (Oswald Chambers Publishing, updated 2016) as I spend time in God’s Word these days. Chambers uses the word “disposition” regarding these two verses. He says we’re born with it. I had to stop and consider that for a moment, but I get it. We see it on display in newborns. Some are pleasant, joyful, sweet from the moment they’re born. Others are cranky and fussy right off the bat. No one had to teach them. It’s who they are from birth. And traces of that original disposition follows most throughout their lives.

Chambers says our disposition fashions our character. So when Jesus is using murder as an example of serious sin, we suddenly realize He’s not just about the taking of a life. He’s actually referring to grumpy old men (and women), the “Karens” of the world, the Debbie Downers, the Sarcastic Susies, and the Nasty Neds. He is speaking to people who use others as the butt of jokes, or who delight in making even their friends look like fools. Some people have to put someone down in order to feel good about themselves. Jesus is telling us that’s a problem. He says people with that disposition are subject to judgment.

I would say people born with that disposition cannot talk themselves out of it. They are incapable of changing who they are. They need a personality transplant. And that’s exactly what God offers! He wants to remove the diseased disposition and replace it with his own.

Consider Jesus’ disposition, His temperament, and personality. That’s what he’s offering to any who receive Him. For a Christian to say, “That’s just how I am,” is denying the power of God. Look how Peter’s disposition was changed. Or Paul’s. You have no excuse to continue being the “old nature” when God wants to, and can, make it new.

That old disposition might be who you were. But it can’t be who you are if the Holy Spirit lives in you.

Doing the Unthinkable

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Genesis 37

We can read about Joseph’s brothers and see where their jealousy and hatred led. Their actions against Joseph have no rational explanation and cannot be justified. Joseph was innocent. There is no excuse for what his brothers did to him.

In fact, most of us can’t imagine the heartless actions of the brothers, from plotting to kill him, throwing him into a pit then sitting down to enjoy a meal together as if nothing had happened, to selling Joseph into slavery. It’s unthinkable that someone could treat a brother with such contempt.

But Warren Wiersbe in his book entitled Be Authentic (David C Cook publisher; Second Edition 2020; p98) warns us that all of us are potentially capable of doing what the brothers did. He cites Jeremiah 17:9 that says we have hearts that are deceitful and desperately wicked. We all do.

Newton’s first law of inertia says once an object is set in motion it will continue moving until acted upon by an external force. I think that applies to jealousy, or any sinful thought and feeling.

Once it is put into motion it will continue moving. But like a snowball rolling down a hill, it won’t just keep moving, though; it will grow, it will get faster and move with more power until is gets out of control…

Until!

At any point an outside force can step in front of it and bring it to a complete stop, destroy it, get rid of it.

I think the lesson here is never put that thought in motion in the first place. Recognize it as sin. Repent of it. Allow Jesus to step in front of it and destroy it while it’s still the size of a snowflake. If you don’t, you could be dealing with an avalanche somewhere down the road.

Never underestimate those sinful thoughts of jealousy, hatred, pride, lust, revenge, etc. Put any of those in motion and you will find yourself doing the unthinkable – just like Joseph’s brothers.

Don’t tell yourself that can’t happen to you. That thought might be pride speaking, and that’s something you don’t want to put in motion.

It’s Not Ridiculous (Luke 6)

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It’s tempting to read these passages for the umpteenth time and overlook something God might want to say to us about it. That almost happened to me this morning. I was reading what God said about loving our enemies. You know it, right? Love them, do good to them, turn the other cheek. Yada Yada Yada.

My mind kept going to the climate in our nation here in 2020. Sadly, the term “enemy” has come to mean a person who simply disagrees with you; someone who is from a different political party than you; someone who supports a different side of the abortion issue. There are those who would like us to believe we should look at people with different skin color than our’s, or in a different tax bracket than us as the enemy.

And how do we treat our enemies these days? We burn down their businesses. Pull out a gun and shoot them. Beat them up. Slander them. Hate them.

The idea of turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, giving the shirts off our backs, loving our enemies and doing good to them is scoffed at. It’s weak! It’s ridiculous!

Did you know that Jesus gave us the Golden Rule as part of His message on how to treat our enemies? Yeah. Our enemies.

Now here is what I almost missed this morning. I believe God wanted me to see a short phrase in verse 36:.

…because he (God) is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

Really? You might think that’s not at all right. God should destroy mean people, ungrateful wretches! Instead, Jesus tells us God is kind to them. Ridiculous?

Oh, it get’s better. After Jesus tells us this, he turns to us and says…

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Now wait a minute, God. If you want to be kind and merciful that’s up to you. But how can you expect me to be kind and merciful to these thugs, these degenerates, these people who call me names and threaten my safety?

“Because I said so,” He seems to answer me.

I challenge you to read this portion of God’s Word, and check your kindness meter. Is it reserved only for people with whom you agree? Do you have the attitude, “I’ll be kind to them IF they are kind to me? I’ll show mercy IF they show it to me first?”

Do you see an “IF” in God’s command to us to be merciful? I sure don’t.

Jesus tells us if we obey Him in this, “Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.” He’s not saying we earn our position as His child by being nice to people. But He is saying that if we obey Him, people will notice and will identify us with Jesus, will recognize that we belong to God.

That’s not ridiculous!

Seriously? (Isaiah 5-8)

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Do we really think we have better ideas than God’s? Are we foolish enough to believe our plans are good and fair, and God needs to get on board?  We can fight our own battles, but Isaiah warns us that we will be fighting against God. Do we honestly think we’ll win?

God has a solution for all the bad things in the world. He has the means for turning evil hearts into holy hearts. He’s provided a way to change hate into love:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (7:14)

God with us!

God has the answer to all that is wrong in our world. He sent His Son to BE the answer!

If I have a medical question, I don’t go to a two-year-old for answers. If I need advice I don’t ask an infant what he thinks I should do. Yet we are acting equally irresponsible when we listen to the advice and follow the plans of our fellow, fallen, sinful man. Whether it’s the CDC, Black Lives Matter, Joel Osteen, Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Lebron James, or any number of “experts” in all that is wrong with the world, we are asking two-year-olds to solve our problems.

There is only one answer. There is only one plan that will see success. There is only one person’s advice that is worth listening to.

Read your Bible. Get to know the Answer. Follow His Plan. Obey God and see our world change.

Do you think you have a better idea? Seriously?

 

Gentle Answers (Proverbs 13-15)

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The proverbs about our speech speaks to me today. Oh, that we in 2020 would learn these truths and apply them to our lives.

We tend to want to have the last word. We don’t listen to each other because we are insisting our own voices be heard. Hate is the language of so many, and enemies are those who simply disagree with us. Opinion is touted as fact, and the majority of us are too quick to believe what we hear without discernment.

I wish that all of us understood that:

A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger. (15:1)

 

July 8 – Life Matters

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2 Kings 14, 2 Chronicles 25

My heart is heavy today. I can hardly watch the news reports from Dallas without going from great sadness, to anger, to confusion. I am tempted, like many, to point a finger and assign blame. But here is my heart:

My nephew is a cop. He will strap on his weapon today, and pray he doesn’t have to use it. He will kiss his wife and children goodbye, force a smile, and say “See you tonight,” and hope it’s true. He’ll drive away from his home toward a job where he knows he will be insulted, spit on, and lied to.

He doesn’t even know if he will live through the day. But he has sworn to protect the very people who want him dead simply because of the uniform he wears. He will confront drug dealers and child molesters, thieves and abusers because he wants you to be able to sleep in your home tonight without fear. He’ll ticket speeders because he wants you to be safe as you drive to the grocery.

I read these chapters in Kings and Chronicles today and am struck by the blatant disregard for life even thousands of years ago. Have we learned nothing? I guess not. Sin is still in this world.

Please don’t perpetuate the hate. Let’s cover the families of these dead heroes in Dallas with our love and prayers.

Let’s quit finding excuses to hate. The media would have it be a racial issue. People, it’s a heart issue, a sin issue, and it’s time that we realize that.

Let’s quit allowing social media to fuel the fire that is already raging out of control. Don’t watch those videos and be a part of making them go viral. You’ve got to realize those videos are not the whole story.

Let’s stop making criminals the heroes. And for goodness sake, let’s stop making villains of those people who put their lives on the line every day for you.

My nephew wears his uniform along with other men and women, white and black, gay and straight, Christians and atheists. They are people who will show up to work today, because YOU matter to them.

Yes my heart is heavy. I’m just so tired of the hate.

 

July 3 – It’s War!

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Obadiah, Psalms 82-83

 

In these days of war, and terrorism, and hate, let me remind us that these things have been happening almost since time began. We read the Old Testament and hear God’s people pray for the deaths of their enemies. We see how God commanded His people to destroy men, women, and children, in an effort to purify the land. It’s horrible.

But Jesus’ presence on this earth turned a page. He made it plain that our enemy is no longer flesh and blood. It’s Satan. It’s sin. It’s spiritual. God is as passionate about purifying the land. But He loved the world, every nation and tongue, enough to send His Son to die so that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. The land will be purified when people come to accept this Truth.

I don’t for a minute mean to say we should ignore the physical danger we are in because of ISIS, or Muslims, or the danger we have of losing our rights through political correctness and blatant immorality. There are people who simply hate Christians. They hated Jesus, too.

Yes we are at war. But I don’t believe hating people or wanting them dead is what God intends for His people. I’m all for defending ourselves with force and am thankful for and support our military. But we will win this spiritual war when hearts are changed and souls are saved through the precious blood of Jesus.

Are you battle-ready?

They Hated Me Without a Cause

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I am Facebook friends with a former student, a young man who loves the Lord. Very often he will post something about his struggles or his victories as he maneuvers his way through this life. This morning he posted something about wanting to live his life with so much faith that the world would have nothing against him.

At first, I wondered about that statement. Then, as God would have it, I opened my study Bible and it directed me to John 15 where Jesus is talking to his disciples right before his crucifixion. He tells his disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own… They hated Me without a cause.”

I was reminded that, in order to condemn Jesus, they had to make things up. They had to lie about him so that they could get rid of him. Then I understood what my young FB friend was saying. He wants to live his life in such a way that if someone wanted to accuse him, they would have to lie.

Isn’t that the life we are all called to live? “Be holy as I am holy.” John continues to report that Jesus, after warning his disciples about how the world would view them, promised them the Holy Spirit to help them bear witness of Jesus. God knows his children will face difficulties because we love and serve him, and he promises to be exactly what we need to face them.

Dear one, don’t lose heart. Expect the world to be uncomfortable around you, because Jesus in you is going to make them uncomfortable in their sin. We can expect the world to hate us because they hated Jesus, too. Let the Holy Spirit do his work in their lives as you are obedient to Him, remembering that it’s God’s passionate desire for those people to come to him.

I’m praying for you. May the choices you make today reflect your relationship with the Savior. And may an unsaved friend or loved one be very uncomfortable in your presence because of their sin, and because Jesus is in you. Most of the time you won’t have to say a thing. John 15:26 promises that “He (the Holy Spirit) will testify about me (Jesus).”

Have you ever heard it said that you may be the only Jesus some will ever see? Or that you may be the only Bible some will ever read? I pray that those who see my life are getting the right message, seeing the right example of a woman saved by grace through the precious blood of Jesus. May it be true in us all.

January 26

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Genesis 33-35

Jacob thought Esau would want to kill him. The closer he got to home, the more frightful Jacob must have felt. As the firstborn son Esau should have received their father’s blessing. Esau had a birthright. But Jacob had stolen what should have been Esau’s.

Now he was coming home. We don’t know what happened to Esau during the years Jacob was away. But one thing is certain. Esau didn’t allow anger and jealousy to destroy him.

Somewhere along the line Esau had forgiven Jacob without Jacob even knowing. Did Jacob deserve Esau’s forgiveness? Jacob never apologized or tried to make it up to Esau. So, no. I guess Jacob didn’t deserve forgiveness.

But Esau deserved to forgive.

Someone once said forgiveness is a gift to yourself. And I believe that. I used to tell my students I was too lazy to carry a grudge. It takes a lot of effort. And instead of feeding the hurt I’d rather let it die of starvation. I’ve found the more I think about the wrong someone has done to me, the more I entertain hard feelings, the bigger the grudge becomes and the heavier the burden of carrying it.

Anger and hate are like cancer. They eat at you until they destroy you. And whether or not the person at whom your anger is directed deserves your forgiveness, you deserve the freedom that comes from forgiving them.

And remember… while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Father, it’s not easy to forgive when we know we have been wronged. And sometimes we need to walk away from the person who has mistreated us. Help us to be aware of the destruction anger and hate does to us. Then help us to let those feelings go. Teach us to forgive as we are forgiven.