Inside Job

‘It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.’  Matthew 12:22-32  When someone criticizes another for doing or being something positive, my young friends call that person a “hater.”  I remember some years ago the first time I heard the term and it got me thinking about the many facets of hate. I’d always thought of it in terms of prejudice or bigotry which can be quite blatant and deep seeded. I realized in a competitive world, such as ours, even in believers, hate can be displayed in more simplistic forms like discouraging words or disrespecting people who are not like us. It becomes like an inside job that divides us and fools us into thinking that if it is not behavior with a strong aversion or intense passionate dislike, that it is not hate, but rather just a difference in perception or even judgment. Perhaps herein lies the problem. We focus to much on our own perception rather than God. I don’t believe God created us to be “haters”. He gives us gifts to encourage and build up one another. Let us use those gifts according to God’s will and to the glory of his name and not be a body divided against itself.