“AIMLESS AND LOST” 

“But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

1 John 2:11

Is it possible for a Christian to hate? While we would prefer a negative answer to this question, the truth presents quite the opposite. It is very possible for a believer to harbor hatred in his heart. For this reason, John gives us a warning and description of how a person walks aimlessly because he loathes a fellow believer.

There are a plethora of reasons why we may hate someone, including those in the family of God, and I can only think of a few, such as betrayal, unfaithfulness, hypocrisy, and personality clashes. Perhaps, somebody has failed us or frustrated us in the past, and we may or may not have noticed that we have been a little unforgiving with them. According to John, when we do this, we are walking in the darkness (collecting evil in our hearts), we are purposeless and blinded.

Living a life filled with hatred robs us of all real sense of direction or purpose. It’s like being lost in the wild with no GPS or any tracking system.

Hatred can be very destructive—both physically and spiritually. It can affect our body’s organs and natural processes and create further negative emotions. According to experts, “hatred is a form of neurosis, fixation, and judgment that is harmful to you. If continued, it leads to conflicts in relationships and bodily disease.” (PsychMatters website)

Hatred amplifies your ego and makes you feel superior and self-righteous against the person you are hating. Some of us cannot hide what we feel, but others are good at pretending and concealing their true emotions. This is dangerous.

For this reason, the Bible has a lot to say about avoiding hatred. Here are some:

“The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.”

Proverbs 10:18

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.”

Leviticus 19:17

“but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Matthew 6:15

Can you keep count of how many times God has forgiven you? I can’t. I have failed God countless times, and He has forgiven very nasty things I have thought of, spoken, and done. He does the same thing for you—provided that your repentance is true. But with such a privilege, God wants you and me to forgive others, regardless of how badly they have hurt us. Besides, can we even compare the magnitude of our sins against God to how our fellow Christians wronged us? No!

My motivation for today is the same as yesterday’s, with a little twist: let go of hatred. Stop being aimless before it’s too late.

If you find it hard to forgive, this may be a good time for you to revisit the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.

Pursue the Savior today!