It Has Hated Me Before You
A Friendly Reminder to be Courageous and Steadfast
Much like we saw eight years ago, our country has once again erupted in an explosion of hatred and anger. People who proclaim their love for immigrants every day, in an instant, go on Twitter (still never going to call it X) and Instagram and call for their deportation because they disagreed with them. They posted videos where they condemn their own family members, stating that they will be cutting them out of their lives for supporting our values. Late night talk show hosts like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert tell us that Tuesday night was horrible for everyone, including us, but we’re just too stupid to know it yet. Joy Reid said that there is nothing that Kamala Harris could have done to win the election because America just doesn’t want a black woman to be President. Turn on literally any mainstream news outlet, and you will hear that Tuesday night was the worst moment in history for women because they will no longer be allowed to kill their babies, even though that is demonstrably (and unfortunately) not true. They call us racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and fascist. They claim that we want to enslave them, take away their rights, and even kill them. And they use this claim as justification to commit violence upon us.
In times like this, it is understandable for you to be afraid. But if Tuesday was indicative of anything, you don’t have to be afraid. There are over 70 million people in this country that stood up for the same values that you did. We stood united against the evil that was being promulgated for the last several years and told not only the rest of the country, but the rest of the world, that these evils had no place in our society. Now some people close to you might be people who voiced dissent to our values. We as Christians are called to not react to this dissent with anger and threats of violence. Embrace them with kindness and charity, even in the face of vitriol and condemnation. Most importantly, never let fear allow you to back down from defending the faith. Whenever you begin to fear, remember Jesus’s words from the Gospel of John:
“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’”
- John 15:18-25
This election has shown us that more and more people are coming to understand these words. If we continue to show our charity and kindness, and stand our ground on our values, more will eventually see the truth in His words.
God Bless You All
God Bless America
Michael