Sunday, June 17, 2018

Proverbs 26:24 -- On Hate and Deceit

"He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;"
Proverbs 26:24


This idea that deceit is a part of hate is interesting.  I was thinking about that, and it seems like we mostly hate people and things that we don't understand.  It's easy to hate something generic and depersonalized, but the more we get to know or understand, the more (usually) we learn to love.  So, I am wondering if hate is a form of self-deception, as we refuse to learn and insist upon our limited perspective.

Part of the atonement of Christ was Jesus learning what it was like to be each of us... to walk in our shoes and understand our pains and sicknesses and sin.  Essentially, he learned to see from our perspectives, and with his perfect love, he paid the price for us, so that we can still be saved if we repent and change.  Walking in his footsteps and doing as he did doesn't mean that we have to suffer as he did, but I think it does illustrate that learning about and loving others brings us closer to God.

Today, let's work on learning not to hate, and not to deceive ourselves or others by considering hatred okay in any way, with any person.  Instead, let's learn about others and work on loving them.

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