Almost eight months into Donald Trump’s presidency, one constant is seen — the almost visceral hatred of him by his detractors. My question is simply — where have those who hate him misplaced their morality?
Hatred is an emotion long recognized in people. It is defined as follows:
VERB: feel intense or passionate dislike for (someone):
NOUN: intense or passionate dislike:
Hate is antithetical to Christianity. We are taught to love, not to hate. We are to do good to those who dislike us. Jesus put it plainly in His Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor ◙ and hate your enemy.’ 44◙ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
He also told His disciples, By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Matthew 13:35
Hate is destructive. It has destroyed friendships, marriages, churches, nations — any kind of human association can be, and has, been torn apart when one person (or more) comes to hate others.
And hatred is a chosen emotion. People do not “catch” it because of germs or bacteria. No one can make others to hate. If we hate, we have decided to hate. Although we may believe we have good reason to hate, we still have to make that choice.
God’s people have exhibited this. In the Old Testament, Joseph is the prime example of choosing not to hate. Hated by his brothers, he was sold into slavery by them. Eventually winding up in Egypt, he was unfairly treated by his master and cast into prison. Due to his ability and God’s grace, he rose to a position of prominence in that foreign land. When he was confronted with his brothers during their time of hardship, he did not show the hatred many would have. Instead, he forgave, aided and loved those who had tried to destroy him.
Two other people showed this triumph over hate, with the record found in the New Testament. First was Jesus, who, while in agony on the cross, found not hate but love when he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” If any had “reason” to hate, He did.
In the book of Acts, one of the first deacons of the Church, Stephen, also chose not to hate. Accused of preaching about Jesus, Stephen made an impassioned defense of his actions and of Jesus. Enraged, those whom he had accused of killing the Son of God took him outside Jerusalem and began stoning him as a heretic. While the stones were hitting him, taking away his life, Stephen pled with God, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”
In our day, we can find numerous examples of those who choose not to hate when most in our world would do so. One of those times was after the killing of nine people in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina on 17 June 2015. Included in this carnage was the pastor of this historic black church. Yet, when confronting the young man who had shot those who welcomed him into their mid-week Bible study, the relatives of the victims, those most affected by the killings, faced that killer and publicly forgave him for his sins against them. These Christians chose not to hate, but to love. If ever I were to be in that city on a Sunday, that is where I would choose to worship, among those who live their faith.
But most probably would choose to hate, even if they were brought up in a religion which preached love and forgiveness. One person I knew, many years ago, was thought of as a pillar of his church, attending every week’s meetings. He had a relative who was raped and killed, in a state many miles from his home. When that man was condemned to death, the bitterness was palpable in this acquaintance of mine. Delays in the execution, and the appeals process which stretched out over years ate at him and he often expressed his hatred of the killer.
This brings us to those who hate Donald Trump. If you scratched them, what would you find beneath the surface? How many of those who spew vile words and hurl unproven accusations at him are members of some religion that preaches love and eschews hate? How many of those who call our President racist, misogynist, homophobic, xenophobic and other epithets sang songs of faith in their youth? Where have those who regularly savage every utterance of President Trump placed their basic morality?
All politicians hold positions which are contrary to those of their political opponents. That is the strength of our system, where reasonable men and women can disagree and dispute public issues. And much of what the President does and says deserves the closest of inspection and even criticism. But when the voters have spoken, the losers become (or used to be designated) the “loyal opposition”. Debate and compromise become the fabric of legislative decisions.
I have been voting since 1964, and have studied American History in college and taught it in the public schools, yet never have I found such vitriol directed at any other President in my lifetime. Day after day his enemies and even those of his own party use words of hatred toward him.
Crystal balls do not indicate where this will end. But one of the most important of moral exercises is that of introspection. If all who despise this President would just take a look at their own moral compass, perhaps some adjustment might be made in the kind of attitude and actions taken.
None of Donald Trump’s critics think of themselves as bad or evil people. But, ifwe were to be honest and objective observers of what is happening, it is obvious that many have chosen to hate him. It would be well to remember what else Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “You will know them by their fruits. . . A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7: 16 and 18).
When will they choose to live what they profess?