Number 161 Where does hatred come from?
My write up no.158 entitled ‘You are programmed’ remains a factual statement.
I was challenged by a young lady of 30 years old about the write-up. She said, Chief Oshunremi, if it is true that we are programmed, where exactly does hatred come from?
Now this question needs to be answered with a lot of wisdom and going deep into the word of God.
The opposite of hatred is Love.
“God is love! There’s no doubt about that; it is not even contestable.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. John 3:16
The word of God went on to emphasise in Ephesians 5:25, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.”
Jesus was asked by one of the scribes: which is the first commandment of all? Jesus' response and answer could not be any clearer on the validity of LOVE!
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.;
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength;
31 The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these;
32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him;
33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices;
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The 10 commandments given to Moses at Mount Sinai was underpinned by the principle of commitment and love to God and one to the other.
The 10 at a glance:
Ten Commandments list
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
After dining with Satan; man systematically violated each one of the commandments which gradually led to the proliferation of evil in man's heart. The breeding ground of evil produced hatred, greed, selfishness, callousness, strive, division, inequality, discrimination, selfish pride, and all the likes.
Sadly, this obscene acts became a way of life that transcended from one generation to the next.
I grew up with my father, in functional and dysfunctional settings up to age 23 where I was absorbed and shaped by a lot of nonsense. Life sometimes can be like running a relay race from one generation to the next. Every generation however gets better as a matter of intentional principle and choice.
As long as I live in good health and the ability to speak, I shall continue to speak until the Lord takes me home on sentimental/sensitive issues. I know that in the process I will not be in some people's good book; if that be the case so be it. Whenever I use my rhetorics to point a finger in your direction there are nine fingers pointing to me.
I have been told to (panu mo) keep quiet;
I have been told to (me’nu kuro ni’be) stop talking about it;
I have been told to (Jawo mbe) leave it alone.
To answer the young lady's provoking question,
why do we hate and discriminate:
We hate because we are ignorant - some of us are sadly the product of ignorant people and upbringing who lived on strife and bitterness;
We hate because we are taught and fed to hate;
We hate because we separate people into categories - some of us see ourselves as superior to the other person. This notion has been nothing but detrimental to human existence.
There is no gene for racism, discrimination, nepotism no matter how clever we try to explain our stance away.
There is no gene for bigotry in human composition - No one was born with such predisposition - we learnt to be bigots from our parents and the influence of some environmental factors.
I am of a renewed view now that anything you learn you can unlearn with intense purpose, focus and determination.
It is my self-imposed business as an educator and someone who has first-hand experience (through questionable upbringing) to challenge this undesirable layers of hatred and bigotry suffocating our society particularly within the confinement of families and people from different cultural backgrounds.
Incidentally, I was speaking to one of my younger sisters the other day - I told her categorically that my renewed love for her and my other siblings could never be tarnished or be replaced with hatred no matter what, come what may! She laughed hysterically with excitement and gratitude to God.
Every generation must improve itself and get better. There should be no room for bitterness but critical and logical reflection.
Regardless, of my past and painful experiences, I am determined to lead people out of this ignorance; ignorance to think you are better than someone else because of their
* social status;
* Earning capacity
* Intellectual limitations
* Social and cultural background
* Race and Creed
* Physical limitations
* Sexuality
* Religious affiliation
* And, living conditions.
It is not easy to walk away from hatred and strife but it is a choice you make. When you live in the absence of hatred you dwell in peace.
By the time Jacob met Esau, Esau had the peace of God in him and there was no room for hatred anymore.
God help us along the way. Have a wonderful and reflective Sunday.
Israel Ayodele E. A. Lazarus Oshunremi
Bachelor of Arts, Honours In Education and Community Studies, UEL
Mentor/Motivational Speaker
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- 1 May, 2022
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