OPINION: Why do people hate?

There are a series of phenomena in our world that consist of two opposites, the existence or non existence of an energy. The absence or presence of such energy yields totally opposite conditions.

For example. heat is an active force. If you are cold, you build a fire. But the opposite is not true. If you are hot, you cannot build an energy source to create cold. To make it cold, you have to remove the heat. The same applies to light and darkness. If it is dark, you can turn on a light bulb so that you can see. But if you wish to sleep during the day, there are no dark bulbs. You have to cover your windows with thick curtains to block out the light. Cold cannot exist in the presence of heat. Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light.

The same principle applies to the duality of love and hate. Love is the active principle. It comes directly from our creator. Thus hatred cannot exist in a soul that is filled with God’s love. People who learn to hate as these three men did have lost touch with God and his love. They have abandoned his primary teaching that we love one another.

Now here is the truly sad part. The principle of love is built into every one of us. It can only be lost by a direct and deliberate actions by someone to destroy it. I doubt if I really need to identify that someone. Any of you who have studied the Bible will know who is responsible.

So, why do men hate? They hate because they have lost touch with the God of love. And the only place God’s love can be denied is within the human soul. The solution can be found in the 22nd chapter of Matthew, verses 36 to 40 where his critics ask Jesus this question:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frankgillispie671@msn.com. His website can be accessed at http://frankgillispie.tripod.com/