Why do some hate more than others? (C)
Terry Dashner…………………………………….Faith Fellowship Church in Broken Arrow, OK
Again quoting from my trusty text entitled, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World Conflicts (Alpha 2002/Steven Strauss), “…war, what is it good for?”
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a press briefing on September 18, 2001 said, “It will not be quick and it will not be easy. Our Adversaries are not one or two terrorist leaders, or even a single terrorist organization or network. It’s a broad network of individuals and organizations that are determined to terrorize and, in so doing, to deny us the very essence of what we are: free people.”
Do you realize the costs involved in being and remaining a “free people?” I think you do because you voted in 2004 to stay the course in Iraq in spite of the death toll of young American soldiers, civilians, and the negative consequences associated with standing up for what is right: Freedom—that’s what’s right, and that’s what costs so much. Before I get carried away, let me return to the topic at hand: Why do some hate more than others?
“According to a report by Radio Free Europe journalist Anthony Georgieff, the Center for War and Peace Research in Uppsala, Sweden issued a report which stated that most armed conflict today occurs within a country’s own borders, whereas in years past, most wars were fought between different countries.
“What is even more interesting, according to the report, is that poverty was the major cause of about 80 percent of today’s wars. Poorer countries were found to be three times at greater risk of war than richer countries. Indeed, throughout the decade of the ‘90s, most wars were fought by countries with severe economic problems.
“Yes, ethnicity was a factor, but not as big a factor as you may believe. It is when ethnicity is tied to poverty that war often results. In richer countries, those ethnic divides are more easily breached without violence and war” (ibid p.10).
On the other hand, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has another idea as to why wars occur. “Although Annan acknowledges that poverty does play a role in many contemporary standoffs, he would like us to shift our focus of attention to the lack of equality and power many domestic social groups face in the world today: ‘It is this [inequality], rather than poverty that seems to be the critical factor.’ “ (ibid p. 11). Are you beginning to sense the reasons why people hate?
Because of humanity’s “fallen state” (since the garden of Eden) in which man pursues his personal interests at the expense and exploitation of others until the tipping point becomes a fight, a struggle, a war of liberation for the oppressed, do some men hate more than others. Then again, once the oppressed have been liberated, the cycle for some begins again.
So you may ask. Can we help ourselves to hate not? Yes we can. But please be advised, it will costs us our lives. That’s right. Are you willing to lay down a life of selfish objectives for the good of your brother? Instead of loving only yourself, can you love the unlovely too? I told you it would cost you something—your life. You must lay down your life at the foot of the Cross and receive God’s only begotten Son in order to live with the power necessary to love all and hate none. That’s the gospel truth!
Keep the faith. Stay, I said stay the course. Jesus is headed your way today. Blessed!
Pastor Tdash
About the Author
Pastors a church in Broken Arrow, OK. Writes devotional materials for his congregation. He is a retired police officer with the city of Tulsa. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, seriving during the Viet Nam era. He is married for 27 years and has three grown children. These are the highlights.