HATRED WILL BREAK YOUR BACK

“Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper -- it only leads to harm.”  (Psalm 37:8 NLT)

Oh, the gradual grasp of hatred. Its damage begins like the crack in my windshield. Thanks to a speeding truck on a gravel road, my window was chipped. With time the nick became a crack, and the crack became a winding tributary. Soon the windshield was a spider web of fragments. I couldn’t drive my car without thinking of the jerk who drove too fast. Though I’ve never seen him, I could describe him. He is some deadbeat bum who cheats on his wife, drives with a six-pack on the seat, and keeps the television so loud the neighbors can’t sleep. His carelessness blocked my vison. (Didn’t do much for my view out the windshield either.)

Ever heard the expression “blind rage”?

Let me be very clear. Hatred will sour your outlook and break your back. The load of bitterness is simply too heavy. Your knees will buckle under the strain, and your heart will break beneath the weight. The mountain before you is steep enough without the heaviness of hatred on your back. The wisest choice – the only choice – is for you to drop the anger. You will never be called upon to give anyone more grace than God has already given you…

The more we immerse ourselves in grace, the more likely we are to give grace. 

-- Max Lucado in “In the Grip of Grace”

#6057

THE WRATH OF GOD

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23 NLT)

God's wrath is not capricious anger, like some divine rage that erupts occasionally. Wrath is the holiness of God yearning for the wholeness of creation. Wrath is goodness offended by evil, compassionate love recoiling at hatred. Wrath stands over against sin, condemning it and ultimately destroying it… All can be made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

-- Richard and Julia Wilke in “DISCIPLE: Remember Who You Are”

#5515

THE WOLVES WITHIN

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things.”  (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

An old grandfather said to his grandson who came in to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story:"

"I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those who have taken so much with no sorrow for what they do; but hate wears you down and does not hurt your enemy. It is like drinking a poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times."

He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and does no harm.  He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended.  He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.  But… the other wolf… Ah! The littlest thing will send him into a fit of temper.  He fights everyone, all of the time, for no reason.  He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great.  It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed." 

-- The story of two wolves is a classic fable that is credited to the Cherokee or Lenape people. It is also known as “Which Wolf Do You Feed?”

#5464

BEGINNING WITH CONFESSION

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the LORD. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”  (Hebrews 12:14-15 NIV)

If we... are going to get right with God on racial matters, we all have a great deal of repenting to do. Perhaps we need to begin with confession. To try to play innocent and say things like, "Some of my best friends are black folks" only perpetuates a state of sick denial. We are socialized into racial attitudes, even if we are unaware of what is happening. We pick up racism from our primary group associations in ways that are too subtle for us even to notice. And what we absorb in our formative years nurtures our attitudes and behaviors that offend and hurt others, even when we are not conscious of doing so.

We usually point to white Anglo-Saxon Protestants as the agents of racism, but those who are African-American, Hispanic, or Asian are not innocent. There is a bitterness that comes over victims of both overt and covert discrimination. That bitterness eats away like a cancer and has a demonic effect on oppressed peoples. The reaction to racism is racism. The oppressed need a special gift of grace to overcome bitterness -- a grace that God has promised to those who would receive it.

-- Tony Campolo in “Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God” (1997)

#4858

THE DEVIL'S SALE

There is a story that the devil once announced he was going out of business and offered to sell his tools to anyone who would pay the price. On the night of the sale, the tools were all attractively displayed. They were a nasty looking lot -- malice, hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit -- each marked with a price tag. A little off from the rest lay a harmless looking wedge-shaped tool, much worn, and priced higher than any of the others.

"What is it?" someone asked the devil.

"That's discouragement," he replied.

"Why is it priced so high?" the prospective customer asked.

"Because," said the devil, "it is more useful to me than any of the others. I can pry open and get inside a person with it when I could never get near him with any of the others. Once inside, I can use the person in whatever way it suits me best. That's why it is so worn, you see. I use it with nearly everybody, because few people yet know that it belongs to me."

It is probably not necessary to add that the devil's price for this tool was so high that there were no bidders. And he is still using it.

-- told by Colin McKay in Scouting (U.K.) magazine


#3593