Hate and Rage
I watched the presidential debate last night. Talk about an hour or so of my life that I’ll never get back.
The squabbling and constant interrupting made the two men vying to be leader of the free world look like middle schoolers on a playground. It could’ve been entertaining if so much weren’t at stake.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden - and, at time, moderator Chris Wallace - are indicative of the biggest problem in our country these days. There’s too much hate and rage.
Everybody seems to be angry, and everybody seems to be directing hate at others. There are plenty of things to be outraged about these days: racism, abortion, abuse, just to name a few. And anger is fine, if it’s channeled into a positive outcome.
Jesus got angry. He turned the tables of the money changers in the temple for the way they profited from the people’s worship. But it didn’t lead Him to sin, and it shouldn’t lead us to, either. “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27, ESV).
Hate is another problem these days. There was a time when most everyone got along with others with whom they disagreed. Now, people can’t do that for some reason.
In modern culture, we have to hate anyone who doesn’t think or speak or act just like us. “Agree to disagree” seems to be a thing of the past. It can be politics, religion, or even sports teams, but there’s so much hatred going around these days.
On The Hour, one of my late, lamented favorite shows of recent years, journalist Freddie Lyon (Ben Whishaw) brings Trevor, a teenage fascist, (Joe Cole) in for a TV interview to expose the racism in parts of London. After the interview, news director Randall Brown (Peter Capaldi) pulls Trevor aside and tells him, “I used to know a boy like you, filled with hate. It just became so damned exhausting.”
For eight years since that episode first aired, that line has stuck with me. It’s how I feel about hate. I’ll never understand how people can waste so much energy and emotion on hatred. Life’s too short, and there’s so much to enjoy that hate is useless.
The Bible reminds us that hate is a sin:
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 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.
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Let’s stem the tide of hate and rage. It may be too late to salvage this presidential race, but it’s not to late for us to show our love for others, no matter how vehemently we disagree with one another.
Photo by Nsey Benajah on Unsplash