Relationships Are Hard

 Save me from my emerging hatred, Lord, for those who are peddling outright, blatant, damaging, and irrational lies to people who are being misled over a proverbial cliff to destruction.  Unless You "hate" them, too, Lord, I cannot escape the command to love everyone, even them.  

Or is that not true?

Psalm 5:5 says, "You hate all evildoers," or "You hate all who do injustice," or "You hate all who do wrong."  (Depending on the version)  I don't want to take these words out of context or out of consideration of Your character, feeling justified in my hatred.  Please help me to balance this apparent contradiction in concert with Your will and Your nature.

This is hard!  I get SO angry.  As I am walking again through Scripture, I see more and more two things:

1. You get angry much more often than I previously believed.  I think I bought the version of You as a benevolent, always-easily-forgiving Papa who did not impose discipline on Your wayward ones.  That appears to have been a false teaching.
2. Your people disobey and disrespect You much more often than I previously believed, too.  Sometimes humanity looks positively hopeless.  I wrestle with the ineffectiveness of disciplinary actions and natural consequences, and I try to reconcile the hardheartedness of humans with the stance toward free will--and freedom to love and obey You--that You have.  

As an aside, but not really, I want and need to pray hard for Amy and Christopher.  Their lives are intricately intertwined with those of immigrants and immigration issues.  I confess to fear, even terror, on behalf of Christopher directly and Amy indirectly, Abba.  I am at a loss for words regarding what to pray, but in these situations, "Your will be done" may be the most appropriate prayer to offer, even if it is the most difficult one to say.  (Just ask Jesus.)  Still, in the spirit of Jesus, "May the cup (of immigration detention and deportation) pass from [us.]"  For Amy, I ask for the strength to manage the stress of the constant changes surrounding international students, their visas, the prejudices they face, and the pressures on many, if not all, institutions of higher education.

Restore relationships according to Your will, Abba.  Is there not a verse prophesying divided relationships?  Yes, there is.

I've come to start a fire on this earth--how I wish it were blazing right now!  I've come to change everything, turn everything right side up--how I long for it to be finished!  Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so.  I've come to disrupt and confront!  From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be--Three against two, and two against three; Father against son, and son against father; Mother against daughter and daughter against mother; Mother-in-law against bride, and bride against mother-in-law. (Luke 12:49-53)     

Probably time to go, Abba.  I will try to focus on something Godly and productive today.  As I said in the title of this post, relationships are hard, even more so in these weird and frankly evil times.  Save us, God, from ourselves, and protect the vulnerable.  These times beg for You to show up with miracles to make Yourself known.  Let me partner with You in that task!

Amen and amen.