God Hates Hate

“Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity!” ~ Psalm 133:1 (KJV)

The weekend before last I attended the Women of Faith conference at Kemper Arena in Kansas City – compliments of my good friend, Rhonda Smith. My daughter-in-law Lisa went with me to the Friday night conference which featured an inspirational presentation from Jennifer Rothschild (www.jenniferrothschild.com). Although Jennifer lost her sight to disease at the age of fifteen, she has managed to maintain her faith in God along with an amazingly positive attitude. Jennifer is married with two sons and is the author of “Lessons I Learned in the Dark” and her latest release, “Touched by His Unseen Hand.”

On the morning of the Saturday conference I flipped open the Bible and my eyes fell directly on the above verse. What a fitting Scripture for the Women of Faith! That is precisely what makes their conferences so special; women gathering from all walks of life and different religious denominations to celebrate something we share in common – a love for the Lord.

In contrast to the demonstration of unity within the walls of Kemper Arena, however, Fred Phelps and his clan of hate mongers were picketing on the street corner outside of the conference. I couldn’t believe my eyes – although, nothing should surprise me when it comes to the Phelps family. Still, I wondered why on earth they would be picketing the Women of Faith conference!

“Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise.”
~ Cyril Connolly, English journalist, editor and writer (1903 - 1974)

I know I am not alone in my feeling of utter disgust by the messages displayed on the Phelps’ signs; messages so vile that I cannot even repeat them in my column. And to think that they do this in the name of God is simply incredulous. God, who is love, doesn’t hate homosexuals, as the Phelps’ profess. In fact, God doesn’t hate ANYONE! Most of us are familiar with the message of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." That is the Good News in a nutshell. Then the next verse reads: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

It saddens me deeply to see the Phelps family traveling all across the country picketing events and funerals of gay men.

“Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated, and this was an immutable law.”
~ James Baldwin, American novelist and essayist (1924 - 1987)

The Bible says that the tongue is a restless evil – with it we praise the Lord and with it we curse men who have been made in God's likeness. “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:18-10)

One of the other speakers at the Women of Faith conference was Sheila Walsh. Sheila shared a story about a time when her young son Christian was pulling off the petals of a flower saying, “I love my mommy, I don’t love my mommy.” Then when he got down to one petal he was on “I don’t love my mommy,” so he turned to her and said, “Mommy, this flower is one petal short.” Sheila went on to say that God is never “one pedal short.” He always loves us – no matter what we’ve done or how many mistakes we’ve made in our life. God’s only language is the language of love – pure and simple.

Sheila then shared the following Biblical passage. After reading this, I don’t see how the Phelps could ever proclaim that God hates anyone:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~ Romans 8:31-35;37-39 (NKJV)

The following tale by poet, journalist and humorist Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911) titled, “The House by the Side of the Road” seems apropos:

“He was a friend to man, and lived in a house by the side of the road." ~ Homer
There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament:
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
Where the highways never ran;
But let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
.
Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by –
The men who are good, and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad and I.
I would not sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban;
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road,
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears –
Both parts of an infinite plan;
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon,
And stretches away to the night.
But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice,
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by –
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish – so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”

~ I John 3:11; 4:7 (KJV)