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Take a stand against hatred

When I was in high school during the 1980s, some of my friends would talk about their hatred of Jews. Every now and then, one would say something like, "I wish Hitler had finished the job." Most of the time, I'd keep as quiet as a coward. If I'd had the courage of a Christian back then, I would have spoken out against the hatred, because that is what Jesus commanded of us when He said: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you."

So, today, I will do what I should have done years ago. I will, to the best of my abilities, speak out against the hatred directed at Jews, who have been targeted with unequaled venom for an ungodly number of centuries.

Who am I to attempt this? No one in particular. I'm not important or influential. And I'm not especially well-educated. But I have read the Bible. And there's more than a few things in that book that should prevent us from hating Jews, or anyone else:

1. The Jews have a unique status according to the Bible. They were chosen to hear and record the words of God. Who chose them? God. And what became of the words that they wrote down? They became the best-selling, most widely read, and most influential book of all time - the Bible.

2. The Jews also were chosen to teach the world about the one true God. And they did. They were the first to popularize monotheism. And Christianity, which began with Jews in the land of Israel, was the first religion to spread to people on every continent.

3. With our own eyes we can see that the promises that God made in the Bible have been kept. And because of this, we should also realize that those who persecute the Jews will be punished by God, for God has told us this, thousands of years ago, in Genesis 12:2-3, and in other verses.

Some examples? Consider the Assyrian Empire, which nearly eradicated the people of Israel about 2700 years ago. The descendants of those who survived were later persecuted by a succession of empires, including that of the neo-Babylonians, the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Nazis and the Soviet Union. So where are these empires today? And what has become of that one tiny group of people that they so vigorously hated? The empires are dead and the Jews are still a nation.

Why? Because God had made this promise to the Jews in Genesis 12:2-3 - "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

4. God keeps the promises that He made in the Bible. And the Jews are living proof of this. The Bible told us in advance the broader details of the past 2000 years of Jewish history: that Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed, that the Jews would be exiled and scattered, that they would influence the world and yet be persecuted by it, that they would ultimately be protected from annihilation and be restored to the Holy Land, and that Israel would rise again as a nation.

All of these things have happened. No matter how tightly you close your eyes, all of these things have happened. No matter how strenuously you attack the Bible or the Jews, all of these things have happened. And the Bible said that all of these things would happen. And the Jews are living proof that the Bible was right.

5. When the Jews declared independence for Israel in 1948, it was the first time in 2900 years that Israel was both united and independent. Who has ever heard of such a thing - that a country could be reborn after its people had been scattered worldwide for a few thousand years?

6. About 2000 years ago, Christianity was introduced to the world by a group of Jews who were followers of a Jewish Rabbi named Jesus. The scriptures, largely through the spread of Christianity, have fostered the ideals of human rights, equality, justice and freedom that today are embraced, however imperfectly, by many of the world's most influential governments.

The founding fathers of the United States, for example, wrote extensively of how the Jewish scriptures are woven into the ideals of the American constitution. The concepts that people are equal in the eyes of God, and that they have inalienable rights, can trace their roots to the Bible. These are among the gifts of the Bible - and of the Jews - to the world.

7. And let us not forget that Jesus is a Jew, and that the first generation of Christian evangelists were Jews. How can a Christian hate a Jew and call himself a follower of Jesus? How can a Christian live in hatred when our Savior died for love?

If Jesus died for everyone, then how can we hate anyone?

We can't. And so we have to rise up and speak out against hatred and persecution. And it doesn't matter who is being hated or persecuted. It doesn't matter if the targets are Jews or Gentiles, Hindus or Moslems, Africans or Asians, Americans or Europeans. Jesus died for everyone. And Jesus was resurrected for the salvation and eternal life of all who believe in Him.

Take a stand against the hatred. Very often, it's as simple as gently speaking up to a friend, or calmly writing a letter to a newspaper, or contacting a lawmaker, or talking to a church leader, or posting an article on the internet.

We must not allow ourselves to hate other people, regardless of whether they are Christian or non-Christian. Instead, we must love them because we are Christian.


- Raymond Konig
Written: September 23 2000
Revised: August 27 2005

Copyright ©1999-2008 George Konig
www.konig.org

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