NOT hating haters

"Hatred is an awful thing. Hating anyone is just plain wrong. It truly is the battery acid of the soul. Yes, I am going to talk about hate on Ash Wednesday."

Like most of us, I saw the President's speech last night. In my opinion - it exceeded expectations. However, not everyone feels the same. Yesterday, a person I have known for many years told me on social media, "You sure picked a winner." She projects a palpable and seething hatred for our 45th President. As does just about every Democrat who sat in the audience last night. And to answer her charge about "picking a winner" - it was not just me. It was the majority of the electoral college. Like it or not, Donald Trump is the current POTUS.

Some people in the past have accused me of hating our former President. Wrong. And if someone wanted to, they could go back through my postings and check. I hated how he was dragging this great country down the road to socialism. But I did not hate him as a person. Nor his family. The worst thing I ever said about Obama concerned his skin. Not the color - the thickness. I thought he could be very thin skinned at times. And that is as far as it went.

Hatred is an awful thing. Hating anyone is just plain wrong. It truly is the battery acid of the soul. Yes, I am going to talk about hate on Ash Wednesday. It is the perfect day to do so. Why? Because Ash Wednesday is a day of reflection. Of realizing we have been living more like Adam and less like Jesus. That is why many churches put a cross of ash on the forehead. It starts the beginning of the Lenten journey. The journey which ends in victory on Easter Sunday. 

My oldest daughter had a roommate in college who is like an adopted daughter to us. Her father said something very profound one Ash Wednesday (we at one time went to the same church). He said going to an Ash Wednesday service is "like getting your teeth cleaned". Bingo. Ash Wednesday and the entire Lenten season is a chance to get your spiritual life cleaned up. I know I sure need it this year.

On the road last week, we saw a bill board down south with a very simple message. "Love God. Love each other. It is as simple as that". That is after all, the greatest commandment. We do all of us forget that from time to time. Plus we are not to hate anybody. Ever. Even if someone is a hater, not to respond with hate.

Our new President is a flawed man. All of us have flaws. But President Trump recognizes the potential for our country, and all its citizens, to be better - to do better. We can do it. But we have to work together. Talk to each other, and not over each other. Disagree, but not to be disagreeable. Let's try it to see how it works. Because if we let hate rule the day, we will lose everything, including our country.