Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
When confronted with the harsh reality of hatred in our world, any talk of peace or love can sound trite, meaningless, or even offensive.
Hatred is like a powerful virus that is almost impossible to destroy once it takes root in the soul. We’ve seen much too often the awful destructiveness of hatred in our world.
And I’ll be honest. Sometimes I think that maybe hate is stronger than love. Sometimes I get depressed when I see my fellow human beings destroy other human beings because of their race, religion, gender, or political views. I’m downright terrified that people are willing to destroy themselves in order to destroy others.
Because while the hater may discriminate, hatred itself does not. Once allowed to fully develop, hatred will destroy both the hater and the hated. Hatred does not care about all the labels we use to divide and separate each other. When hatred is allowed to fester, nobody is safe.
Becoming an instrument of peace
And so, we cannot afford to remain silent in the face of evil. We cannot afford to succumb to fear, hopelessness, or despair. We must be willing to confront hatred wherever we find it because in this cosmic battle, there are no bystanders.
How do we do battle? Some try to confront hatred with even more hatred. However, the only effective weapon against hatred is love.
In order to bring love to the dark places, we must be willing to become instruments of peace. So let us together pray the Prayer of St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Cylon, thank you for another heartfelt post! ♥
You’re most welcome Laurie 🙂
I have been thinking lately about the things I wish other people would do, and then realize that I have no control of others,only myself, and I have started doing those things for others.
So true…I struggle with that all the time so it’s good to know that I’m in good company! We need to keep reminding ourselves and encouraging each other.
Amen to that, my brother!
As I continue to age – I am drawing my tribe closer and closer.
Most the time I am alone, but I am never lonely.
Difficult times so thank you for offering an anchor.
Always easy to hate – instant, mindless action.
Takes time to learn to love – building foundations, giving up selfishness, thinking and being considerate to others.
Thanks, Cylon. Have a good week.
Thank you Zara…and fully agree. It’s easy to hate but the cost is so high. And conversely, loving is hard but the fruits of loving makes it so worthwhile. Enjoy your weekend and have a good week as well 🙂