How did hate become so ordinary in a country that says it follows Jesus Christ? How did anger, fear, pride, and division become louder than the words of the Savior who told us to love even our enemies?
Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). He also said that people would know His disciples by their love (John 13:35). If our words and actions are full of hate, then we must ask ourselves a hard question: are we truly following Christ, or are we following something else?
Many people have become blinded to the truth of the gospel. They put country first, party first, power first, or comfort first. But the message of Christ is greater than any nation. Christ did not die for one country, one group, one race, or one political side. Scripture says, “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15). The gospel calls us to live no longer for ourselves, but for the One who died and rose again.
Paul wrote, “Since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:1). The best of us would faint if we did not receive mercy from God. The mercy that has brought us this far can carry us to the end. But mercy should make us humble, not proud. It should make us gentle, not cruel. It should make us servants, not people who use faith as a weapon.
Second Corinthians 4:4 says that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,” so they cannot see the light of the gospel of Christ. That blindness does not always look like open unbelief. Sometimes it looks like religion without love. Sometimes it looks like saying the name of Jesus while refusing the way of Jesus. Sometimes it looks like defending hate and calling it truth.
The apostles did not preach with hidden motives. They did not twist God’s Word to serve their own plans. Paul said they refused “secret and shameful ways” and did not “distort the word of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2). True faith does not cover wickedness with holy words. True faith brings things into the light.
Paul also said, “What we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5). That means Christ must be first. Not self. Not pride. Not fear. Not country. Not any leader. Jesus is Lord, and His command is clear: love God, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39).
We carry the treasure of the gospel in “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). That means we are weak people who need a strong God. We are not saved because we are better than others. We are saved by grace. That should make us merciful, patient, truthful, and loving.
So the question is not only, “How did hate become so ordinary?” The deeper question is, “How did we become so comfortable ignoring Jesus?” If we belong to Christ, we must return to His gospel. We must reject hate, repent of pride, tell the truth in love, and remember that Christ died for all.
Lord, open our eyes to the light of Christ. Remove the blindness of hatred from our hearts. Teach us to love as Jesus loved, to speak truth without cruelty, and to put Your kingdom above every earthly kingdom. Amen.
Minister A Francine Green, September 2026