AUG 24

1 John 4:20-21
Memorise 1 John 3:15
“Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer…”

There are times in your life, where hate feels just so right. Your anger feels so justified; your thirst for revenge overwhelms you. You have been so terribly offended or wronged; you have been hurt so badly. You feel so frustrated, as things are just not going the way they should. You feel that people around you are so selfish and mean! You want to scream and shout, make the person or persons who hurt you feel the same pain as you do. The more you think about it, the more it makes you boil inside. Hate, anger, malice, frustration, all flare up and swirl around in this cauldron of emotion that bubbles and seethes like lava just waiting to burst forth from inside!

However, when we look into the Bible, we realise that this sort of anger which leads to hate and lust for revenge, is never right. Throughout the book of 1 John, we are told that anyone who claims to love God but yet hates his fellow brother is a liar (1 John 4:20), is one who is walking in darkness (1 John 2:9), and is a murderer abiding in death (1 John 3:14-15).

You see, a Christian ought to be characterised by love. The foundation of our salvation is grounded on the love of God, and then after, our duty is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. It is impossible for one to claim to have love within him, but yet at the same time harbour hatred, anger and malice in his heart. That is the question that John posed in 1 John 4:20 – “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Therefore if we really do love God, as all Christians should, then there should be no cause for us to hate a fellow brother. Even if they do wrong you, or offend you in some way, always seek reconciliation, exercise forgiveness and show forth selfless agape love. It may not always be easy, but that is how we ought to be. In so doing, we show forth a testimony that can be a shining light for Christ. If we carry our bad temperament around with us, ready to lash out at anyone and everyone, we would be a terrible testimony for Christ, and a stumbling block to many.

Thought: How I control my temperament can make me either a good testimony or a stumbling block.
Prayer: Lord, help me to always be loving, gentle, peaceable and kind.