Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins (Proverbs 10:12)
I walked out on my back porch one day and noticed that all of the little birds were congregating in a small bush like tree. Their chirping was distinctly different than at other times and the branches of the plant seemed to tremble. I was wondering what could be causing these birds to behave in this manner when suddenly a hawk swooped down into the yard and landed on the rail of the neighbor's fence. Just the overall presence of this hawk in the area caused the birds to behave as they did.
In a similar fashion, hatred does the same thing. When hatred rests in the heart of a person, a stirring occurs with the people with whom they interact. It is not difficult to recognize that if a person hates another, there will be strife between the two, but it goes beyond that. Hatred in the heart of a person controls that person and will affect their entire demeanor. It will affect their actions towards those that they hate as well as those that they love and because of this hatred, their relationship and interactions with others will be grating. Just as food items can be grated or abrasively torn, people with hatred will act abrasively towards others. When this occurs, strife is experienced by all.
Granted, these people may have hatred in their hearts because of abusive relationships, domestic troubles, financial ruin, health struggles and the list can go on, but their actions are still unwarrented. Christ, our sufficiency, should enable us to deal with all of life's struggles and enable us to deal properly with others in the midst of the greatest of hurts.
The answer for those who stir up strife in relationships with others is not necessarily to give them a rebuke--although their sin does require it--but to recognize what may be the cause of their hurt, which has led to hatred, and then lead them to experience victory over it. Until this occurs, strife will continue to be present, others will be hurt, sin will continue to occur and God will be robbed of the glory that he deserves.
Do you continually have strife with many people? If so, you may be the cause of this strife? Instead of defending yourself, stop and ask The Lord to put his finger upon the root problems in your life that are moving you to such strife. If you seek, you will find and when you find, you must begin to deal with those issues. As you gain victory over these hurts, your experiences with others will become more pleasant and life will become enjoyable.
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