Hate has no Place in a Real Christian’s Heart

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Recently we celebrated the 94th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights leader who was so full of a spirit of love, yet his life was tragically taken as a result of hate and a lack of understanding of his mission. God said, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20 ESV). The sad part is that some of the perpetrators of hate proclaim Christianity. It saddens me to see and hear the hate that continues to permeate this earth, especially in the presence of young minds. This evil must come to a halt because hate has no place in a real Christian’s heart.

Just as people learn to hate, they can learn to love. Let me share this story, “How Long can You keep Hate in Your Heart,” about an experiment that a teacher used to teach her students a lesson about hate.

“A kindergarten teacher had decided to let her class play a game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates. So the number of potatoes that a child will put in his plastic bag will depend on the number of people he hates.

“So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he hated. Some had two potatoes, some three, while some had up to five potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry the potatoes in the plastic bag with them wherever they went for one week. Days passed, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having five potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After one week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.

“The teacher asked: ‘How did you feel while carrying the potatoes for one week?’ The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they went.

“Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. She said: ‘This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart, and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime?’”

Always abound in the faith and love, and never leave home without Him!