Hate Much?

Above CNN photos are a very small sample of the extensive damage and loss of life that has occurred over the last six months since Russia’s unprovoked invasion into Ukraine. We cannot imagine the depths of frustration, fear, anger and exhaustion that these people have suffered. Even from our distant vantage point we must fight feelings of hatred towards those responsible for such carnage. I have caught myself many times saying things like “I hate Putin” or similar statements.

Parts of Ukraine are being fed by emergency service organizations such as World Central Kitchen pictured above in Mykolaiv. Meanwhile fresh shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has raised global alarm about the risk of a nuclear accident. “As a result of periodic shelling, the infrastructure of the power plant has been damaged, there are risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances, and the fire hazard is high¹“.

Additionally, “dozens of Ukrainian prisoners from the Azov Regiment were killed after the detention center where they were being held in Russian occupied territory came under attack. Soon after, Ukrainian officials demanded a probe into video footage that appeared to show pro-Russian forces castrating a Ukrainian fighter and then executing him.” Both these actions constitute war crimes if true². Surely it is acceptable to hate individuals that inflict this type of harm.

Former President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence being searched by the FBI for classified information and the subsequent release of the redacted affidavit has set off a fire storm of opinion for and against such action. The FBI’s motive has been called into question by Trump loyalists and continued cries for prosecution come from Trump opponents. “Earlier in the year, White House officials concluded that the “MAGA” label was toxic to many voters and that, if it was broadly and effectively applied to the Republican Party, it could change the midterm election from a pure referendum on Biden to a choice between two philosophies and, presumably, two leaders, both unpopular.³” What that means is that the election rhetoric between now and the midterms next November will only get more and more heated causing more division, more anger and more hatred in our nation. I have already heard members of my family, devout in their faith, express hatred toward present and former Presidents. So how are people of faith supposed to respond to this environment of hate both in our nation and around the world? Is it ok to harbor feelings of hatred against war criminals? How about politicians, whether Democratic or Republican?

“If someone says, I love God. and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20) Makes sense but yeah, I know, not everyone is my brother, especially someone like Mr. Putin, right? Well, not quite. Mathew quotes Jesus as saying “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Mathew 5:43,44). Mathew goes on to say that God allows “the sun to shine on the evil and the good, and the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” In other words, in God’s economy of faith he puts all men and women on an equal playing field in terms of the dynamics of life. We are all subject to the evil doings of the world. It is up to us to respond accordingly as a people of faith or not. Sure, we all fail in living out our faith successfully, some of us more often than others, but here is the key point about this subject. Harboring ill will and emotions like hatred only hurts us and does little to nothing to change the behaviors of those we are hating. By hating others, we are binding ourselves to feelings and emotions that work contrary to our faith. The longer we stay bound to those feelings of hatred, the more hateful we become. Richard Rohr states “God must reveal himself in you before God can fully reveal himself to you.” I explain that as moving from a faith based on knowledge and information to a faith based on experience. I call that the intersection of the natural (us) with the supernatural (God) that births an active faith in us that helps us wrestle with those issues of hate and resentment towards those who seemingly deserve it. So how do we begin to not hate so much and love more? By learning to love God more. Rohr refers to a method taught by St. Bonaventure (1221-1274) to work up to loving God, start by loving the very humblest and simplest things, and then move up from there.⁴ I understand what this means but have found a more practical solution in my life when I feel frustration, animosity and hatred towards people, those whose actions and behaviors I disagree with and have no ability to change. I start by thanking God for all that is good in my life and then work forward to addressing my feelings of anger and hatred. Let me give a recent example that helped me.

My wife and I are fortunate enough to live on a lovely golf course in Maryland and often play together 3-4 times a week. Recently my wife had another commitment after playing one half a round with me and left me alone to finish. I have loved golf most of my adult life but like many had little time to play. Between vocation, avocation, and family demands little extra time was available for golf. I always said that when I retire, I am going to play a lot and I do. However, I never considered that when one finally gets the opportunity to do so we have grown old enough that our bodies don’t respond to playing too often or too long at one time. But left alone, playing a sport I enjoy, in a pristine environment like a golf course my mind often turns to God. On this particular occasion, surrounded by Maryland’s beautiful eastern shore, I began thanking God for my life, my health, my wife, my family and just being alive. Immediately my mind turns to the many times I am ungrateful, unkind, and at times hateful in my manner and speech concerning those things and people I do not like. It doesn’t matter if it is a communist on the other side of the world, a politician in Washington D.C., or a neighbor next door, I can become very hateful at times. As these things come to mind while praying, it’s almost like God in His way is reminding me of who I am supposed to be rather than who I am at times. I immediately repent for those times promising to do better, to try harder, to hurt others less. The result is a song in my heart and peace of mind that makes me wonder why I don’t confront my sins more often. On this particular day, all this occurred while playing golf on hole #10 and I now was arriving at hole #11 pictured above. I struggle with my game, particularly this hole because as you see it is surrounded by water and trees which I seldom avoid one or the other. This time the ball I hit almost went in the hole on the first try, stopping only inches away. That never happens! I was pretty pumped and hurried on to the next hole, to see if my luck would continue. It was a few holes later the thought occurred to me that great shot came immediately after some quality time with God confessing some of my poor behavior. It was almost like God saying to me, here enjoy your round. Think of it. No one around but me and God. No bragging rights here because everyone knows how bad I play, and if I tried to brag, they would think I was making it up. It was almost like a personal golf tip from God. That may sound foolish to some but here is the point. I haven’t fallen back to those same hateful attitudes that I was dealing with previously. That was God’s purpose in the experience. Not to improve my golf score, but to improve me. The golf score was just thrown in as an added benefit, no charge.

All that to say if you are struggling with hate, get alone with God. Talk to Him. Confess your struggles. He is aware of them, and He loves us anyway. Once we realize that, we can begin to love God more. Then someday if we repeat that pattern in our life often enough, we may learn to love those that are most hateful. Even when they are most hateful to us. I’m not there yet but trying to get there. That is all that God requires of us – try to get there, He will do the rest.

¹ “Ukraine, Russia exchange blame for shelling at nuclear plant” by Claire Parker & John Hudson, Washington Post, Sunday, August 28,2022, P.A19

²“Ukranians describe beatings and torture while held as POWs” by Siobhan O’Grady and Kostiantyn Khudov, Washington Post, Sunday, August 28, 2022, P.A18

³ “Trump helps turn midterm referendum into a choice” by Dan Balz, Washington Post, Sunday, August 28, 2022, P.A2

⁴ “The Universal Christ” by Richard Rohr, P.42,57; Convergent Books, 2019.