Category: hatred

Hate and love

Ruth Kirk

Do not nurse hatred in your heart (Leviticus 19:17; NLT ).

Introduction
Hating others is common nowadays. Hateful speech and actions are present in our streets, schools and workplaces, in newspapers and online, and wherever there is disagreement, conflict and war. Some countries are even having to introduce detailed legislation about who we should not hate.

Sadly, such legislation can generate bitter arguments about who has been included, and who has been left off the list. So how can we deal with this issue in such a way that everyone can understand it, follow best practice, and help to make the world a better place?

A simple answer
The answer is very simple: Don’t hate anyone. Don’t even judge anyone. Instead, love everyone, just as the Bible teaches.

Three steps
This might sound like a huge challenge, so how can we learn to do it? I’ve broken the process down into three steps, which take only a few seconds to follow. The three sages can be summarised as: STOP, SORRY, and LOVE.

Step 1: STOP
The moment we notice ourselves having a judgemental or hateful thought (or feeling, or impulse), towards someone, whether in the flesh, on TV, in a newspaper, or online, etc, we need to say, “STOP”, to ourselves immediately. As Saint Paul writes: “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5; NIV).

Step 2: SORRY
Next, we can say, “Sorry, Lord”, before replacing our judgement with thanks to God for the person concerned, then asking God to bless them. With regular practice, this process becomes an inbuilt reflex the moment we catch a judgemental thought entering our mind.

Step 3: LOVE
The final step is to make a conscious choice to love the person. If circumstances allow, we can smile at them, or say, “Hello”. If appropriate, we can make a pleasant remark to them, or, if needed, offer our help in some simple way. Let’s make their day a little better for having crossed our path. Remember that if the person isn’t physically present, we can still pray for them.

Developing a new habit
To begin with, we might not become fully aware of a judgemental or hateful thought until some time after the moment has passed. We don’t need to beat ourselves up about this. Instead, we can still recognise what we have done, say we are sorry, ask God to bless the person, then pray for them.

With practice, the conscious recognition of unwanted thoughts will come more quickly after each event, until eventually we are able to deal with our judgemental thoughts and feelings on the spot, whilst the person concerned is still in sight.

Exactly the same approach applies when we have critical or hateful thoughts about someone we read about, or see on TV, or who simply passes through our minds unbidden.

With practice, this method of noticing and correcting our judgemental and hateful thoughts gradually becomes an established habit. Critical attitudes and impulses towards others wither away, unrewarded by our attention and indulgence.

What the Bible says
Here are some references to remind us of what the Bible says about who to love. Remember that the answer is very simple: Love everyone:

– May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 3:12; NIV).
– Love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).
– Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).
– Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).
– Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

Conclusion: becoming like Christ
In conclusion, let’s begin a world-wide movement against judging and hating others, beginning with changing ourselves. Instead of hating, we can move towards loving everyone, because: “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs” (Proverbs 10:12; NIV). In this way, we can become just a little more like Christ.

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Ephesians 4:13; NLT).

References
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things (Romans 2:1; NIV).

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matthew 7:1-2; NLT). 

The Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).

A reading from 2 Peter 1, 5-8; TIB.
Make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, familial love; and to familial love, truly unselfish love. For if these qualities are yours and they are growing in you, they will protect you from becoming ineffective and unfruitful; and they will bring you to a true knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Justice and peace

Ruth Kirk

Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to the LORD (Psalm 14:4; NLT). 

The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths (Isaiah 58:8; NIV). 

We pray for an end
To corruption and greed,

That mercy will flow, Lord,
For all those in need;

That justice will triumph
For those who are poor,

And for the cessation
Of hatred and war.

Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea (Isaiah 48:18; NLT). 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10; RSV). 

13.1.24: Call us

Ruth Kirk
Skitterphoto (modified by R.K.): Pixabay.

I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name (Isaiah 45:3; NLT).

Lord,

Please call us all by name,
And teach us to make peace.

Help us to end our foolish wars;
Make greed and hatred cease.

May we repent; forgive our sins,
And fill us with your light –

For you create us all, and we
Are precious in your sight.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants (Psalm 116:15; NIV).

Reference 

I am tired of living among people who hate peace. I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war! (Psalm 120:6; NLT).

Keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it (Psalm 34:13-14; NLT).

Let them make peace with me; yes, let them make peace with me (Isaiah 27:5; NLT).

If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light (Luke 11:36; NLT).

God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth (Isaiah 42:5; NLT).

The eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive, focused on God], your whole body also is full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. But when it is bad [spiritually blind], your body also is full of darkness [devoid of God’s word] (Luke 11:34; AMP). 

9.1.24: Sharing and caring

Ruth Kirk
121385620: Pixabay.

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens.
(Psalm 68:19; NIV). 

In prayer a few nights ago, I realised that God constantly shares, and cares about, all the pain, grief, fear and suffering people are experiencing throughout the world.

As I reflected on this, I wondered how it might feel for God to open his heart in this way.

Then I saw that, to a very small degree, we, too, experience something similar when we genuinely care about others who are suffering. 

They might be people we know: family members, neighbours, friends, acquaintances or colleagues. Stretching our hearts a little wider, we might include those we see in the streets, read about in the news, or glimpse on television, whilst not forgetting about those who are harming other people.

Opening our hearts a bit further, we can feel for the numberless millions who are suffering, even though we never hear anything about them. This could include, for example, those giving birth, or being born; the sick and disabled in body, mind, heart and soul, as well as the dying and the bereaved. Let’s not forget the poor, and those in prison, too.

Similarly, we can widen our hearts to care about everyone who is being abused, discriminated against, rejected, persecuted, hated and attacked, as well as all those caught up in wars.

Going a little further, there are always people who are hungry, thirsty, lonely, homeless and stateless, including refugees, as well as all those who lack security and medical care.

Sometimes we might be even able to expand our hearts still more, briefly sharing with God the immense weight of caring about the millions who are suffering all around the world. However, it is very hard for us to maintain this state of mind and heart for long periods.

God, on the other hand, is infinitely strong. He is also pure, perfect love (1 John 4:8; NLT). He cares for everyone, all the time. Unimaginable, isn’t it? Yet we are called upon to become like him.

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him (Colossians 3:10; NLT).

References 

The Lord is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made (Psalm 145:9; CSB).

In all their suffering he also suffered (Isaiah 63:9; NLT). 

He bears our sins, and is pained for us (Isaiah 53:4; BST). 

Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24; NLT).

A reading from Matthew 25:34-40; NLT.

The King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”

Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

6.10.23: Christ is love

Ruth Kirk
4355729: Pixabay.

To my delight I had plenty of time to pray yesterday morning, having woken early, and already posted the day’s blog. However, today’s verses started to arrive within minutes, and I couldn’t resist discovering what they were going to say.

Interestingly, this blog didn’t come out at all as I had expected. Even more amazing: I accidentally erased the penultimate line, which I knew said exactly what it needed to say. Sadly, I could neither remember nor reconstruct it, but a few minutes later God gave it back to me, for which I was deeply grateful.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28; NIV).

There’s neither you nor I:
There’s only love.
There’s neither me nor them:
There’s only us.

There is no place for judgement
Or dislike,
Discrimination, hatred,
Or distrust.

There’s neither priest nor people:
Only prayer.
There is no church:
Just Jesus, and his call.

There is no male or female:
We are one;
No living and no dead,
For Christ is all.

There is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all (Colossians 3:11; NIV).

References 

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Philippians 3:14; NLT).

I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one (John 17:22; NLT). 

We, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another (Romans 12:5; RSV).

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive (Luke 20:38; NIV).

We have passed from death to life, because we love each other (1 John 3:14; NIV).

20.7.23: Filling my soul

Ruth Kirk
Pezibear: Pixabay.

I had to wake up early yesterday morning for some work to be done in my house. Whilst I was praying, these verses arrived:

The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit expresses our plea with groanings too deep for words. And God, who knows everything in our hearts, knows perfectly well what the Spirit is saying, because her intercessions for God’s holy people are made according to the mind of God.
(Romans 8:26-7; TIB). 

Filling my soul,
You pray within me –
Lord, I’m your willing slave.

Pleading on my behalf
For others –
Lord, please forgive and save.

Making me weep,
With sighs and groaning –
Lord, please touch every mind,

Ending our hatred, wars
And bloodshed –
Heal us, for we are blind.

In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.
(Psalm 36:2; NLT). 

You will open the eyes of the blind.
(Isaiah 42:7; NLT).

References 

🔻 I am the Lord’s slave  (Luke 1:38; HCSB).
🔻 We all have sinned against you (Jeremiah 14:20; NLT).
🔻 Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good. They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil (Psalm 36:1-4; NLT).
🔻 He touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! (Matthew 9:29-30; NLT).
🔻 Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment – to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind” ( John 9:39; NLT).

25.12.22: Christmas Day

Ruth Kirk

Context: God often gives me a special prayer well in advance, ready to post on Christmas Day, but this year it didn’t happen. In fact, I had begun to think there would be no Christmas prayer at all this year. To begin with, I felt I should be able to write something appropriate, but I knew I couldn’t do this without inspiration, so eventually I placed the matter in God’s hands, and let it go.

Then, on the 21st of December, I received a long Christmas prayer, which was very difficult to put into words, to condense, and to edit. Eventually it took the form of a spoken exchange. The first section pictures Christ speaking to us, whilst the second pictures us responding to him.

✝️ She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them (Luke 2:7; NLT). 

I was born in the shadow of want,
And lived in the shadow of fear.

I worked in the shadow of hate,
But knew that my Father was near.

I wept in the shadow of grief,
And prayed in the shadow of pain.

I walked in the shadow of death,
Then rose, to save all, and to reign.

The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15; NLT).

✝️ We all have sinned against you (Jeremiah 14:20; NLT). 

Though we dwell in the shadow of sin,
And grieve in the shadow of loss,

We pray, and give thanks, and rejoice,
For we follow your way of the cross.

Though we walk in the shadow of death,
We trust in your staff and your rod.

Lord, you are here, in earth’s darkness,
So we sing in the shadow of God.

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 63:7; NLT).

Christmas greetings:

My very best wishes to every reader who visits this website. May God bless you. I pray for you all every day.

✝️  With love, and many thanks for your support, from Ruth xxxxxxx

19.11.22: God is near

Ruth Kirk

Context: The night before last, my seventh with covid, I managed for the first time to cope without taking any cough-suppressant. As soon as I woke in the morning, I began to pray, but within seconds I was overwhelmed by today’s blog:

He is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:27-8; NIV). 

God is not far away,
But very near:
In everyone we meet,
And see, and hear;

In every joy and sorrow,
Smile, and tear;
In pain and anguish,
Suffering, and fear.

God is not far away,
But deep within:
In every mind, and heart,
And soul, and skin;

Despite our hatred,
Selfishness and sin –
God is not far away,
And God is King. 

God is the King over all the earth (Psalm 47:7; NLT).

References 

There is one Savior, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of all, who is over all, who works through all and is within all (Ephesians 4:5-6; TIB).

You are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16; NKJV). 

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 3:12; NIV). 

Love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; NLT).

Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

Rosary news:

Despite covid, I made a (hopefully) more accurate Fiat Rosary today, with the colours in the right order. Here is is:


…and here it is again, lying on my shrine overnight, soaking up God’s blessings:

18.10.22: Transformation

Ruth Kirk

Context: I’ve been struggling badly since a new drug was added to my cocktail a week or so ago. Amongst other side-effects, it made me unable to concentrate, or to pray, and therefore, unable to write. Worst of all, it made me feel that life was no longer worth living.

However, yesterday, with medical help, I reduced the quantity of this drug by 50%, and today, to my great joy, I found I could both pray, receive inspiration and write again.

Tomorrow I hope to post what I was given this morning, but for now, here is an astonishingly appropriate piece I chose and prepared last night, with no idea that my state of mind might be about to change.

This prayer arrived very early one morning some weeks ago, when I woke at dawn and couldn’t go back to sleep. The photo is the view from my bedroom window that day:

My God turns my darkness into light (Psalm 18:28; NIV). 

You turn my darkness into light,
My sickness, into health;
My weakness into strength, Lord,
And my poverty, to wealth.

You turn my mourning into joy,
My sighing, into prayer;
My loneliness, to oneness, Lord,
My selfishness, to care.

You turn my water into wine,
My sinfulness, to good;
My anger, into peace, Lord,
And my bitterness to love.

You turn my losses into gains,
My dross, to precious ore;
My death, Lord, to eternal life
With you, for evermore.

In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28; NIV).

References

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life (John 5:24; NLT). 

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! (Psalm 30:11-12; NLT). 

What is the Kingdom of God like?

Ruth Kirk

Context: After posting yesterday’s prayer (https://wp.me/p45bCr-c36), I saw that the image of the wolf lying down with the lamb is a wonderful way of representing the revolutionary quality of relationships in the Kingdom of God (Isaiah 11:6-9; NIV).

This radically new way of living is characterised by treating everyone with love, regardless of how they behave towards us. We all have the potential to live like this, because God’s Kingdom is present within everyone (Luke 17:20-21; NKJV). Jesus lived as a citizen of God’s Kingdom on earth, and we, too, as individuals, can work towards the same goal.

However, for the Kingdom of God to hold sway throughout the whole world, we must all overcome the temptation to judge, reject, hurt, hate and destroy others. This applies to every person, family, group, denomination, caste, sect, class, tribe, religion and nation.

Both individually and collectively, the human qualities we need to overcome include:

  • Behaving selfishly and callously towards others
  • Refusing to share what we have
  • Controlling, dominating, bullying and abusing those less powerful than ourselves
  • Taking what belongs to other people
  • Judging and rejecting others for being different from ourselves in any way
  • Rejecting those with different spiritual beliefs and practices from ourselves
  • Looking down on, or hating, those whose skin-colour, sexuality, or way of life, is different from our own
  • Pursuing cruel, destructive conflicts and wars
  • Overexploiting and destroying the earth, our only shared home

Using richly symbolic, visionary language, Isaiah vividly illustrates what it will be like when everyone lives in the Kingdom of God:

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:6-9; NIV).

Following this train of reflection, today’s poem quickly came to me, though it was very difficult to put into words:

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough” (Luke 13:18-21; NLT). 

What is the Kingdom of God like?
The strong take good care of the weak,
Men treat all women as equals,
And wait for their sisters to speak.

What is the Kingdom of God like?
The rich share their wealth with the poor.
The healthy assist the disabled,
And all give up hatred and war.

What is the Kingdom of God like?
It’s heaven on earth and above,
For colour and creed make no difference
When all live in God, who is Love.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16; NIV). 

References 

When He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21; NKJV). 

The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore (Isaiah 2:4; NLT).

I heard a loud voice calling from the throne,“Look! God’s Tabernacle is among humankind! God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them. The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the old order has fallen.” The One who sat on the throne said, “Look! I’m making everything new!” and added, “Write this, for what I am saying is trustworthy and true.” And that One continued, “It is finished. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who are thirsty I will give drink freely from the spring of the water of life. This is the rightful inheritance of the overcomers. I will be their God and they will be my daughters and sons (Revelation 21:3-7; TIB).