Hate is not something that is taught.
No one taught Cain to hate Abel. Hate is a seed that has been in the heart of every single human being since Adam and Eve made the fatal choice to "be like God" (Satan's words, not mine). Hate is rooted in the desire to put oneself above another; to believe they are better; superior.
That's called, "pride" and none of us are immune to its DNA.
In just the last few months, the increasing violent events, attacks, and protests have created an increasing and accumulative heartbreak that defies description. It sickens me to see such brutal displays of depravity. Sadly, these acts are the fruit of the same enemy who first appeared in the Garden of Eden and now slithers around in the dark recesses of my mind and yours.
Yes, he's not only the driving force of the violent and heinous acts we witness on the news; He's also very much at work around you and me.
His work on us began a long time ago. He's done his best to nurture those seeds of superiority from the time we were born. Granted, it took awhile... but eventually those seeds sprouted. Not all of us have become bigots and racists, but the seed of pride is always lurking and looking to manifest itself in some form, be it deception, lust, jealousy, envy, greed, anger, etc.
And we pick our own poison.
Is that difficult to believe? Well, let's be honest; would you like to have ALL of the thoughts that go through your head every day exposed to everyone you know? Me neither.
Pride leads to hatred, and hatred is gruesome and obscene. We should be angry when we see it on display. But it should remind us that none of us are immune to its whispers. If we truly want to see the fruit of hatred destroyed, we must first eliminate the root of our own pride.
And the truth is, not one of us has the power to do that. But Jesus does.
To see how evil is crushed, you must come to the foot of the cross and look up into the bruised and bloodshot eyes of LOVE, TRUTH, and COMPASSION. Turn your ear upward toward a voice–between gasps for air–that says, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”
The more we gather before the cross, acknowledging that none of us deserve those words (of forgiveness) to be spoken over us, the more our hearts will be transformed. The more our hearts are transformed, the more we become like Jesus.
And that my friends, is how hate loses its grip.