As opposed to other clubs where the initiation process can be quite difficult, getting into The Haters Club is an effortless task. Obtaining a membership is as easy as harboring even the most minute amount of unforgiveness towards someone and you automatically gain full access to the club.
The club has many perks of which its members delight in including a license to hang on to anger indefinitely, a license to control, as well as the ability to keep the offender “on the hook”. These all seem very appealing but they come with a price.
Perhaps you have heard the phrase:
there is a fine line between love and hate
If you have ever been in love then you might agree it is one of the strongest feelings you can ever experience. You probably have mental archives full of details such as the place you and your “plus-one” first met, your first date, your first kiss, your first dance, and the list goes on. As a matter of fact there is probably a whole section of your memory dedicated only to this. Some might call it a tad bit obsessive.
Hate functions in much the same way. In fact, it is scientifically proven that hate is an all-consuming passion, just like love, which uses many of the same neural circuits in the brain. You have a perfect recollection of what the object of your hatred did, what they said, the place you were at, how you reacted, and the list goes on. Just like love, the circumstances take up valuable space in your mind and you are able to play them over and over in your head just like a classical movie.
Understandably, there are offenses others commit against us that leave us not only wanting to be members of the club but actually make us want to run for president. But before we run off and start a presidential campaign, we must be reminded that the price of hate is enslavement.
Recently, I was deeply touched by something I read on a social media site. It was a bereaved husband’s letter to a terrorist group titled “You will not have my hatred”. Though Leiris never states in this letter that he forgives, he obviously understands the price to pay for hatred. This is why he repeatedly tells the terrorists that he and his son will continue to walk around in freedom and that they will not respond to the terrorist behavior in anger.
Speaking as someone who has been on both sides of the fence, I can tell you that it is much more difficult to be the one extending the forgiveness then to be the one receiving it. Though this may seem obvious, what may not be as obvious is that the reward is also greater for the same.
…Because forgiveness is not about letting anyone off the hook but yourself. This is where true freedom lies!
Are you ready to give up your membership?
To read “You will not have my hatred” in its entirety please click here.
Well-written post on this difficult but need-to-be-addressed topic, Rosie. You’ve captured its essence succinctly in this line: “forgiveness is not about letting anyone off the hook but yourself. This is where true freedom lies!” Thank you! Stopping over from Kelly’s #RaRaLinkup.
Thank you Julie. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Wow! Love the title of this Rosie! What an insightful and thought provoking post! I’m glad that I have relinquished my membership to this club and I pray to never return to it! Thanks for sharing and blessings to you and yours this Christmas season
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Horace. Yes, I am glad I don’t belong to that club as well! Blessing to you as well 🙂 Nice to connect with you again.
Amen. I love the humor in your treatment of this painful topic!
Thank you Helene. A little humor makes things easier to deal with.
Thank you Helene.
Hi Rosie!
I’m your neighbor on the Intentional Tuesday linkup and I am so glad I am. This post is so well written and the truth presented in such a creative way that it cannot help but provide a fresh look at a topic we may have heard before. Thanks so much! Certainly the Lord is speaking through you in this!
Blessings on you, friend!
Pam
Hi Pam. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words. I’m glad it can be looked at as refreshing 🙂
Hatred takes so much of our time & energy too. It is a beast, never content, but always looking to grow. While it may not come easy to forgive, the benefits are so worth our every effort. Much wisdom in this post. Glad to have been your neighbor this morning at Three Word Wednesday!
I appreciate your thoughts Joanne. You are correct, not easy but worth the effort! Thank you for sharing.
This ties in with the Christmas theme at The Loft so well because only by accepting the gift of Jesus will you have the power to totally forgive. If He had not come, we would truly be enslaved, not only by sin, but most especially by bitterness which is a fruit of unforgiveness.
Merry Christmas, and thank you for sharing at The Loft!
Yes, only He gives us the strength to forgive and move forward. He is the way to freedom in every sense. Thanks for your post.
Hatred. Love. Forgiveness. Emotions that can either bring life or death. Thanks for the reminder to NOT choose hate.
Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.