How do you know when the light has gone out. We humans are remarkably adaptable to our social environment, and even large-scale changes can escape our notice. Because we can adapt so readily, we may not notice when we the society at large has slipped into darkness. The last few weeks though, have revealed a slip into darkness that should disturb not only believers, but also anyone who wants a good and just society. We have normalized hate.
Dick Costolo, former CEO of twitter made a very disturbing and revealing tweet just a few days ago. He writes,
Me-first capitalists who think you can separate society from business are going to be the first people lined up against the wall and shot in the revolution. I’ll happily provide video commentary.
— dick costolo (@dickc) October 1, 2020
Here is the former CEO of a tech giant fantasizing about a communist revolution that summarily kills people. Notice what he does not say. He does not say that lining up people to shoot them is a bad thing. No. He will “happily” provide video commentary. He is saying 1) that he is supportive of a coming revolution—ostensibly communist in nature, and 2) that he has glee at the thought of killing capitalists. The poet Maya Angelou once said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Believe him. He is gleeful the thought at a communist revolution that lines up and kills “me first-capitalists.” The name for the idea he is expressing is hate, a natural outgrowth of evil.
He is not alone. When President Trump announced he had tested positive for Covid, there was an outpouring of support, but there was also an outpouring of hate. Comedian Chris Rock said, “My heart goes out to Covid.” Former Hillary Clinton spokesperson, Zara Rahim, tweeted then deleted, “… I hope he dies.” Blogger Brad Gallaway wrote he hopes Trump dies a painful Covid death. As if this were not bad enough, a Politico poll gives more terrible news. A full 40% of Democrats were happy Trump had Covid. Another 31% were excited.[1] I do want to be careful here. I do not want to suggest that one party is good and another party evil. I do want to suggest hate has been normalized and accepted in broad swaths of our body politic. The situation has gotten so bad that Twitter and Facebook have both had to ban language wishing harm on the President. Their choice here is a good one. As for us, we must call wishing death on the President by its name. It is evil.
I have even seen clergy state to their congregations that their wishing of harm on the President is acceptable. Unfortunately for the clergy and their congregations, this is strictly prohibited by the Bible. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” (Mt. 5:43-46a NIV) In other words you cannot willfully hate another person enough to wish death on them and be obedient to Christ at the same time, even if they are doing you harm. Wishing harm on another person is the emotional outgrowth of hate. Hate and love are opposed to each other. Because God is love, practicing hate is ungodly, anti-God behavior. As 1 John eloquently says it, “Whoever who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
The Bible regularly describes the conflict between good and evil as a struggle between light and darkness. For example, when referring to God, the Bible says, “God is light; in Him there is not darkness at all” (1 John 1:6 NIV). In the Gospel of John’s prologue, Jesus is described as the light that enlightens everyone and a light that the darkness cannot overwhelm. Hate is part of the darkness. When hate is normalized, shadows have overwhelmed our world.
Never, ever, ever, give into hate.
[1]https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-sad-worried-democrats-happy-indifferent-over-donald-trumps-covid-diagnosis-poll-1536114
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