Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate

I’m so tired. So tired of the anger, stress, arguing, protesting, fighting, etc. I’m tired of seeing it every time I open up Facebook, or other social media, or watch the news. It’s exhausting.

I’m not saying that anyone’s beliefs are invalid. You have a right to your beliefs, but the action, reaction, and then over reaction is getting old…really old.

Can I just be real for a minute? Just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean they hate you! It doesn’t give you the right to say horrible things about them. This goes for both sides!

As someone who was brainwashed, I feel like I can say some things about brainwashing. People, anytime you think that your opinion is the ONLY ONE and everyone else is the enemy and must be destroyed, you have been brainwashed! You are being used by someone and their agenda. Again, I’m talking to both sides here.

We are all human and thus have the potential to be wrong. A little humility can do wonders. The best stretching and growth comes from having respectful, intelligent, honest, genteel conversations with people who have different perspectives than we do. We can all learn something from each other if we are willing to listen.

So, please stop encouraging the madness and please do your part to spread love and peace.

I don’t care if you are devastated by current events or excited by them. If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, then listen for a minute. Our country, our world, needs us right now. They need hope. They need Jesus! As Martin Luther King Jr. so beautifully said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” If we have trusted in Jesus as our Savior, then we have the greatest Light and the greatest source of Love living inside of us. Now is not the time for anger and verbal battles. Now is the time to share the amazing message of the gospel!

Do your best to avoid getting into arguments on social media or in the comment section of news articles. Think before you post anything reactionary. Ask God to give you wisdom and to help watch your tongue (fingers).

Instead, share the beautiful truth that our Creator loved us so much that He did whatever it took to bring us back into a relationship with Him. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die a brutal death on the cross for our sins and then to be resurrected, conquering the power of death forever. We have the opportunity to KNOW God. This is good news! The best news. 🙂

If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or even panicked, remember that God has not left His throne. It takes more than a president to throw Him off His game. Where is your trust? This world is not our forever home; it’s just a temporary, broken tent. It’s never going to be perfect until Jesus is reigning as King.

I’m going to finish with some of my favorite verses from Habakkuk.

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the LORD is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; He make me tread on my high places.” Habakkuk 3:17-19