“Hate crime” has been a hot (and getting hotter) topic for the past decade or so. This blog deliberately steers clear of topics that can amplify political differences, so I’m not going to get into opinions about hate crimes and the laws surrounding them. I just want you to hang onto the term “hate crime” for a bit.
“Hater” is another term that has risen over the past few years. The Urban Dictionary: “Hater – A person that simply cannot be happy for another person’s success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person.” That term has led to the creation of another phrase:
“Haters gonna hate.” The Urban Dictionary again: “A phrase that represents ones complete and total disregard of another’s negative comment towards the original person.” In other words, I can’t control what someone else thinks or says about me. Their harsh words say more about them than they do about me.
I wonder what the Apostle John had in mind when he wrote these words: “If anyone claims, ‘I am living in the light,’ but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.” (1 John 2:9-11, New Living Translation)
That gives a whole new focus to haters and hate crimes. John seems to be saying that a person claiming to be a Christ-follower who hates another Christ-follower is worse than a hater. He or she is a phony.
That’s some serious stuff! That’s the stuff that splits churches. That’s the stuff that keeps churches from being effective in their communities. That’s the stuff that leads others to believe that Christians really are hate filled. If they notice that we can’t even obey Jesus’ most basic command to love one another (John 13:34-35), why would they believe we would ever care about them?
More on this tomorrow …
