The world hates you because it hated me first.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
‭‭John‬ ‭15:18-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why do people hate each other?

Perhaps it is because of greed or insecurity or the quest for power or because of some kind of pain. But the bottom line is that hate is a direct result of Satan’s influence in the world. 

How should hatred toward us make us feel?

First, if we experience hatred from any source, we should evaluate our lives to see if we can find something that needs to be addressed there. We should ask these questions: Am I doing God’s will? Am I allowing Satan to have a foothold in my life. Depending on what we find, we should talk to God about it and make any necessary adjustments. 

Secondly, if we are in God’s will then we should feel honored that Satan is after us. If we weren’t doing well with God, then Satan wouldn’t care. But if we’re on target spiritually it gets under Satan’s skin, so to speak, and he gets after us. 

Remember this. It isn’t you that Satan is after, really. It is God. He seems to have forgotten that Christ won the victory over sin and death. And he is oblivious to the fact that in the end, he is going down! For now he is content to mess with God by messing with His precious children. 

What should we do about it?

First of all, don’t lose your head. Depend on the Holy Spirit to empower you with self control — one of His fruits. 

Secondly, carefully lace your response with love — another of His fruits. 

Then pray for the person who is being hateful toward you. Pray earnestly. Allow God to break your heart for them. Seriously. They need Him. You need to pray for them. 

Father, we see hatred all around us. And sometimes it directly affects us. Help us to recognize that it is You that Satan hates and that You are the Victor.  We claim Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as we deal with the haters of this world. Thank you for Your help because we couldn’t do it without you.