This article was written in August 2019, after the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fullment of the law.
Romans 13:10 NIV
I can pray.
That is all I can do right now. And I can cry for the lives lost and the families and friends affected. And I can weep for the hate in our country.
Watching the Facebook Live video of President Trump’s speech in the aftermath of the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, I looked at the comments people were making while he spoke. Most were full of hate. For the president, for immigrants, for people of color, or for each other.
Pointing fingers and looking for someone to blame. If you are making these hateful comments, the person to blame is in the mirror.
Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galations 6:8 NIV
Arguing with someone on the internet just fuels hate. And that internet hate seeps into your daily life. You start to look at others differently. You close off your mind to someone different. You only seek like-minded individuals, and you gather to share your fear and hatred of other groups.
Hate is not unifying our country. It is tearing the United States of America apart.
1 John 4:20-21 NIVWhoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Scroll away from the arguments. Close the comments on your posts if someone starts attacking you. Walk away. Hate speech feeds the hate that is breaking us apart.
I don’t agree with the current administration’s position on many issues. Alone, I cannot stop the mass shootings or the hatred that is being spread.
What I can do is spread a positive message. I can tell people how much I love and appreciate them. I can embrace our differences and learn from them. And I can resist the urge to join in the hate speech and repost comments and articles that stir us against each other.
I will speak positively. I will remain hopeful. I will spread love, not hate.
And, I will pray. Will you join me?
*The feature photo was taken in downtown El Paso, Texas when my husband and I lived there in the fall of 2017.
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