Day 2157 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.


1 John 2:11 NIV

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." Martin Luther King Jr. has so many amazing quotes that it's hard to pick a favorite. There's just something about this one that really seems just about perfect. There's this weight that hatred has and sadly I don't know that too many people realize what it does to them when they allow hatred to rule in their lives.

As this verse in 1 John points out, hatred is darkness. It's this world of negativity that holds us down and keeps us chained in place. It forces us to see the absolute worst in humanity. It asks us to look for the wrongs that others do and find reasons to hate them for it. Hatred is this sickness that infects people without them even realizing it until the damage is done and they're lost inside of its control.

Why not choose to see the best in people? I understand that everyone makes mistakes and does stupid stuff. I know that I definitely do! I realize that there are countless differences and things that make us all unique. But to hate someone really does seem like this burden to carry. You have to always remember why you hate them. You have to keep this feeling of anger and division inside of you. Why be controlled by all that negativity all the time?

I truly love the second part of this verse. "They do not know where they are going." How true is that? We're seeing it around us all the time these days. So many claim to want better but they won't let go of the hurt of the past. We say we want to heal and make this world better but yet we cling to grudges and mistakes of yesterday. How can we move on to something better if we keep digging up the pain behind us?

We need to let things go. We need to let hatred go. If we ever hope to make things better down here then we need to forgive and move on. If we allow hatred to exist in our hearts then we will forever be held back because of it. But if we can let the darkness go and choose to love instead then there is nothing that we can't fix, change, or heal. Hatred causes a whole lot of problems, but love covers even the worst of mistakes. Pretty sure that's in the Word too!

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