“Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat.”—Harry Emerson Fosdick, Love—not hate—is what the world so badly needs more of. Love is a powerful force for good. Hate accomplishes almost nothing, but it can destroy us as well as others. Both love and hate are natural emotions, and we are all capable of both loving and hating. Love is like the warmth of sunshine. Hate is like the fire of a burning inferno that, given enough time, will destroy us. Hate is often based on ignorance. People tend to hate other people who are different from them in some significant way. It might be race, religion, political ideology, or a host of other factors. No matter what the basis for the hate, it usually hurts both the person being hated as well as the one doing the hating. Hating is like making a human torch of one’s body in an effort to burn others. Those who hate usually end up burning themselves as much or more than those they are hating. We all have disputes and disagreements with others as we travel life’s journey, and thus we have cause to become angry at times. Anger is a very useful emotion, if we keep it within reasonable bounds, because it can motivate us to take constructive actions to deal with problems. But when anger lingers for too long, it turns into hate, and hate is the world’s worst enemy. When we stoke up the fire to burn our enemy, we almost always get burned ourselves. We must always remember that life is short and uncertain. The past is gone, and the future is not guaranteed. The only time we have for sure is the present, so we should make the most of it. Loving others is one of best possible uses of the present. Not only do the people we love benefit, but we also benefit from the love we give. And, unlike money, the more love we give, the more we have. Unfortunately, some are so bitter over incidents from the past that they can’t enjoy the present. They are consumed by their own hatred and their desire for vengeance, and they are hurting themselves more than anyone. Fosdick was so right when he said hating people is like burning down your house to get rid of a rat. It is an extreme measure that can absolutely ruin our lives. No matter what has happened to us in the past, we need to find a way to put it behind us and get on with living and loving. Copyright 2015 Allen W. Smith TB-475—Posted 01/08/2015 .
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 23:22:35 +0000
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