Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” Genesis 27:41

Hatred is a pattern that repeats itself for generations, often a pattern that is never broken. One of the more famous examples of generational hatred in our nation was the Hatfield-McCoy feud that covered several decades in the 1800s. These two rural families from the West Virginia-Kentucky area would live for decades under the siege of hatred, distrust and violence. It was one act of violence by one family leading to a retaliatory response by the other family and a feud that implanted seeds of bitterness that bore fruit in the coming generations.

“Esau hated Jacob” set in motion a bitterness that would drive a wedge between two brothers and would ultimately live on for generations. Esau did not care about his role as first born and Jacob took advantage of the situation. A feud sparked out of jealousy, scheming and hatred until a family was split apart. We find the pattern of hatred that drove Esau and Jacob apart repeated often.

Cain in jealous hatred kills Abel.

David in lustful hatred has Uriah killed.

Joseph’s brothers in jealous hatred sell their brother into slavery.

Absalom out of revenge hatred kills his brother Amnon.

Judas out of power hatred betrays the Son of God.

“There is no positive benefit or place for hate other than directing that emotion to evil.” Psalm 97:10. “Let those who love the Lord hate evil.” “The way to get out of that darkness is to walk in the light and allow God to transform your heart. Forgive those who have hurt you, let go of bitterness and the need for revenge, stop thinking and ruminating about your injustices. Rather think about how can you be part of the solution and begin to open your heart to love.” Dr. Linda Mintle

This illustration from a Native American anecdote sums up well the power of hatred. “A grandfather talking to his young grandson tells the boy he has two wolves inside of him, struggling with each other. The first is the wolf of peace, love and kindness. The other is the wolf of fear, greed and hatred. “Which wolf will win, grandfather?” asks the young boy. “Whichever one you feed” is the reply.”

Which wolf are you feeding? In our current culture it is easy to find yourself feeding the wrong wolf within your soul. Jesus said “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Mark 7:20-23 (NLT)

Love is not the opposite of hate but love is the transformer of hate into love. A love that is not some cheap perfume that covers the stink of evil but a love that was born on a splinter laden cross is the only way to overcome the power of hatred.

Allow 1 John 4:20 to awaken a new prayer within your heart for ourselves, our families and our nation. “Whoever 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.”

God is great,

Pastor Lynn