Love the One's Who Hate

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I have a confession to make: I used to hate on people! I know, it may be hard to believe, but I seriously used to look at people with judgment, disdain, ridicule, mockery, and other not so nice adjectives. I couldn’t handle people who were more successful, possibly funnier, popular…basically BETTER! I struggled with the fact that there was possibly someone who might be better than I am at anything, even if I knew it was true!

That is the truth about haters! Haters will hate because they can’t handle the truth that they are not as good as they have built up in their head. As Jack Nicholson said “You can’t handle the truth!”  There will be people who are not willing to accept what they know, which is they are not the best at everything.

The sad thing is, there are people who proclaim Christ that can’t come to grips with this reality either. We have worship leaders who won’t relinquish their microphone or piano stool due to the possibility someone might do better. We have pastors who won’t step away from pulpits so an up and coming pastor might speak in fear of the congregation “liking” them better. Youth pastors who will not acknowledge the fact that maybe, just maybe, one of their volunteers might be funnier or better at speaking. The list can go on and on.

We will all face haters in life, but we must recognize that we may be one our self. When we can first admit that, we are one step closer to handling the naysayers we face. We must then look to the example Christ set for handling those who try to bring us down…Love them!

In order to move beyond my hating, I had to come to the reality that I have gifts, but I am not gifted at everything. I had to look to others with the respect they deserve and appreciation for what God has given them to be great at! Then, when people express hate towards me, I look at them with the eyes of my former self. I see the insecurity, I see the pain, I see the need for acceptance, and I love them for who they are as broken people created by God.

We are all victims of the fall and two of the consequences are comparison and insecurity. We are made to go beyond hate and move to encouragement. The truth about haters is they know the truth and it hurts. The truth about followers of Christ is we know the Truth, and He is love!