In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord takes us from the tangible sin into its origin, into what we call lust, i.e. the internal emotion, as he says for example: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sisterwill be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5: 21-22). Jesus is interested in the heart; he wants to purify it from the factors that corrupt it. Hatred is one of the things that corrupt man; it is the continuation of grudge and the reasons that activate it.
Hatred is the retraction from others and the isolation of the self that eliminates others mentally as it doesn’t dare to eliminate physically. It is a moral killing of the person that you believe is annoying you or affecting your benefits and pride. We start hating the person that’s different from us, as if his existence eliminates ours; we start considering that he has no freedom to be the person he wants to be.
Hatred is a lust in the soul that many people fall into on all levels, even people that consider themselves spiritual when they are actually not. It is a kind of petrifaction that hits most people. This stubbornness destroys the person that falls into it because he who closes himself in front of others and eliminates them would be threatening and drying his heart.
The Great St. John Climacus recognized the danger of this feeling when he said: “Hatred is the fruit of anger and a desired bitterness”. The bitter person cannot be creative, giving, or serving in his kindness. The wild angry person perishes himself and the others because he doesn’t give them any importance or credit. The danger of hatred is that it takes root in the person and needs grace from heaven to descend on the heart like “dew” and soften it.
When the Scripture talked about God in the Psalms it said that he is “slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever”. The Lord disciplines without hating any of his sons, while the person that gets angry and hates a lot is somehow mad and needs a heavenly power to be healed.
Yes, people do have stupidity and bad intentions towards us and some of them even carry refusal and compulsion. Most of the time, these people do not know why do they hate. Therefore, the Scripture said about those: “they hate me with cruel hatred”. They wouldn’t like your face, speech, appearance, or a word you have said that they interpreted wrongly and got hurt. They wouldn’t say why they’ve been hurt by you, so they become sad and transform their sadness into hatred. After that, they would start abhorring every action you do and add it to what you’ve said before and make a big deal out of those. However, you might be sweet hearted with no evil or hurting intentions, and in this case they would be killing themselves and you would carry no responsibility. They oppress you, and you’d be wondering if you should disappear from their way in order for them not to harm themselves through hatred. However, where shall you hide if they were from your family or environment or colleagues? Should you stay quiet all the time to make them comfortable? And if you did that, how can you witness for the truth?
You wonder why can’t you be different and stay friends? Isn’t diversity the beauty of this world? What would harm them if you were more talented than them? God gives talents and these are for his glory; may God be glorified in whoever he wants. Some have more gifts than others. You might have fought and tried hard in order to purify yourself and know and understand, while others might have stayed in their laziness wanting you to also be with them in this mental poverty.
If you thought that others are envious (envy and hatred are twins), pray for them so that God would take away their sin and let them revive through an effort similar to the one that made you revive too. Remember those weak people in your daily prayer in order not to become bitter yourself. When you do so, perhaps they might taste love and know how to be happy like you.
Perhaps the miracle happens and the “dew” descends on them.
Translated by Mark Najjar
Original Text: “الحقد” – 21.05.2000
