The Color of Hatred

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” 

(Martin Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.)

I cannot recall ever hating someone. I've disliked some people, been angry, frustrated, resentful towards a few individuals over the years, but no hatred. Hatred frightens me for its power and intensity. The dictionary defines hatred as, "intense dislike or ill will," its synonyms including loathing, detestation, abhorrence, and abomination. It is altogether a state of hurt and separation.

It is also a profoundly common human experience. Countless millions have fallen into (chosen, become captive to, been taught to) hate, and as a consequence every possible atrocity has been inflicted upon humanity. When we hate, the focus of our hatred becomes objectified, opening the door to the darkest of human brutality.

“Hate,

it has caused a lot of problems in the world,

but has not solved one yet.” 

(Maya Angelou)

I wonder about the power of hate - its source, what sustains it. I suppose there are theological explanations; perhaps even psychological or physiological determinants, however, I find that the raw power of hatred is almost beyond definition.

There is an idea, though, that does tweak my interest - that hatred is the obverse of Love, or as some have called it, Love turned in on itself. I am open to this for I see in hatred a similar power and passion as I experience in Love. It is as though hatred is Love's doppelgänger, a ghostly opposite. 

Where Love infinitely creates and re-creates, heals and restores, hate infinitely destroys. Where Love builds up, hate tears down. What they have in common is an intensity of focus and a quintessential commitment to completion. Love never stops; so too hatred.

I am utterly convinced that the only antidote to hatred is Love. While "like dissolves like" in the physical world, in soulful realm of Light and dark, it is Love power of wholeness that will undue the chaos of hate. 

This all comes to bear as we are regularly bombarded by news stories of hatred's rampage. More hatred will not stop ISIS. More hatred will not stop prejudice, injustice, or any of humanity's many ills. There is but one road to healing, and it is the universe-generating power of Love.

Let all that you do be done in love.

(1 Corinthians 16:14)

Let us all be vigilant in our self-awareness, that hatred does not slip through the backdoor of our thoughts. Let us not fall prey to justifying hurtful actions under a false banner of justice. Lover bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and Love WILL outlast hatred's brief flash in the pan.

I leave the last word to the apostle John, who gives us this warning:

Whoever says he is in the light

and hates his brother

is still in darkness.

(1 John 2:9)

The color of hatred...

a smile with teeth.

Be infected

every cell

every molecule

every particle

of your being

with

Love

and let

the contagion

spread

Pray

beam

be

To Ponder Further:

From the Bible: "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)

From Bahá’í: "Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction" (Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, CXXXII)

From Islam: “O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of satan. He is an outright enemy to you.” (Holy Quran: 2, 208)