If you are a Christian you need to nip these hate seeds in the bud.

hate – noun intense or passionate dislike

True hate is a dark emotion. To hate is to abhor, detest or loath. The heart of a hate filled person has usually been cultivated by some form of hate to themselves, which is what enriches the hate seed to grow. Students can learn to hate school at an early age because their elementary teachers are condescending instead of encouraging towards their work.

Families learn to hate others who look different, because elder members display contempt and distain for “those people.” Religious members may feel threatened, thus propagate hate, when they do not understand another’s beliefs. The word hate is increasingly scattered, fertilized, and grows uncontrolled in our day-to-day communication expressions.

“I ‘hate’ mayonnaise on my sandwiches.”
“I ‘hate’ political agendas.”
“I ‘hate’ hearing the garbage truck every Monday morning.”
“I ‘hate’ stray cats in my yard.”
“I ‘hate’ my boss.”

The word hate is multiplying at a very alarming rate.

Its basic meaning has become watered down. The word is tossed out with no real thought behind what it actually means to “hate” something. I mean, who actually has intense hostility towards mayonnaise?

hate – intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury, or antipathy

But truth in correct definition does not seem to halt usage of this dark misspoken word.

And because social media is an addiction used to constantly communicate our: every cup of coffee, current dinner choice, exact where abouts and particular activity – the extreme word hate now invades and overpowers less abrasive word choices which would better describe most circumstances.

So how can we tone down our “hate” messages to a lesser form of negativity and at the same time better communicate exact feelings and circumstances?

“Mayonnaise on my sandwiches makes them mushy.”
“Political agendas don’t help my bank account.”
“The garbage truck every Monday morning wakes me up.”
“Stray cats in my yard dig my flowers.”
“My boss knows how to irritate me.”

These more detailed sentences don’t convey exact hate. Hurling the hate word habitually injects negativity into our conversations. Positivity does not flourish within negativity. And Christians, we know we are to act positively because the Bible tells us not to hate.

Mark 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

When we live through the positive commandment of love, good language naturally springs forth. With intrinsic Christian love, we should not emit hate seeds of:

Hostility
Fear
Anger
Injury
Dislike
Antipathy

True positive desires and reactions stemming from Christian love is just the opposite of hate. Friendly, trusting, gladness, devotion, adoration and affinity take the place of those hateful words.

But why then, as many non-believers like to point out, did Jesus also tell us this:

Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

Jesus was instructing His disciples here that He requires total commitment. He is first and foremost. Yes, Jesus wants our fathers and mothers and everyone else to follow Him. But, if they choose to reject Him, Jesus meant we are to love Him over them. They have no control over the love sowed for our eternal futures.

Jesus already told us in Matthew 18:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Only through Jesus does true love grow.

Only through Jesus does true love grow.