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Our society appears to be permeated with hate. Symptoms of this are everywhere, for example this is the third year in a row that the US has had over 600 mass shootings. These acts of violence arise partly because of powerful negative emotions: hatred of anyone who has a different skin color, a different sexual orientation, or perhaps even a different political party. These feelings have always been with us but they seem stronger than before and they are acted on more frequently.
Such hatred arises in our inner life where we are in the process of defining who we are and who we want to become. This is where we choose to do God’s will or choose something lesser. Will we follow God’s plan for our lives, or will we wander without inner guidance? Each of us needs God’s leadership in our lives.
Since this inner life of man is truly creative, there rests upon each person the responsibility of choosing as to whether this creativity shall be spontaneous and wholly haphazard or controlled, directed, and constructive. How can a creative imagination produce worthy children when the stage whereon it functions is already preoccupied by prejudice, hate, fears, resentments, revenge, and bigotries?[1]
When our inner thoughts are tainted by hateful emotions it becomes difficult to function in society. Such dark emotions make spiritual progress impossible; those possessing such minds are a menace to society.
Our Inner Life
We are sentient beings interacting with the world around us by means of our mind. This mind is where we interpret our surroundings and make plans. You cannot completely control the external world—environment. It is the creativity of the inner world that is most subject to your direction….[2] This inner world creativity can take on a wide range of forms, from the most negative imaginable to the most spiritual. It is in our mind that our free will is the strongest and freest; there is a wide range of possibilities for our mind.
In our mind we determine right and wrong; evaluate meanings and values which can only be perceived in our inner experience.[3] The advances of true civilization are all born in this inner world of mankind. It is only the inner life that is truly creative.[4] The goal of society should be to guide individuals into seeking spiritual goals in their mind.
The most important goal of our inner life should be finding peace and love within. Society must have citizens at peace with themselves. All conflict is evil in that it inhibits the creative function of the inner life—it is a species of civil war in the personality.[5] Societies having a large number of citizens at war with themselves, such as ours, are unstable and will collapse.
We should share our inner life with God, our creator Father;[6] {God Within} doing so would enable us to overcome our baser emotions and become more spiritual, thereby becoming better individuals and better citizens. When our mind is in turmoil we are moving farther away from God, we become susceptible to hateful thoughts and actions.
We examine two broad categories of hate and discuss their source.
Tribal Hate
From the earliest times our ancestors formed clans and tribes, those within the group were generally trusted and those outside were generally feared and hated. Such feelings have been with us so long they are probably in our DNA. This fear and hate makes the group stronger;[7] at the dawn of history these feelings were important to the survival of our ancestors but they are not healthy in our “modern” society. Our way of life can endure only when the brotherhood of all peoples is fully realized.
When such social groups formed personal conflicts were diminished and there was peace within the group; this was an important step toward civilization, but it came at the cost of friction between groups.[8]
Such feelings of hatred for outsiders, which can be called tribal hate, are now widespread in society. Individuals who feel they are part of some particular group, such as white Anglo-Saxon males, may feel hatred for those who are different in some superficial characteristic, perhaps skin color. We need to realize each individual is a unique child of God; within their mind there is no skin color, but such mental activity will be affected by negative reactions they encounter. Hatred based on some individual characteristic is tribal hate, based on a perceived difference.
Rejecting Truth
Another form of hatred is directed at an idea that supposedly threatens an individual’s way of life; this form is rejecting truth. The first time Jesus sent the apostles out on a preaching tour he told them before you establish the kingdom on earth, you will be hated by many peoples because of this gospel….[9] Religious leaders in Jerusalem hated the teachings of Jesus because they threatened the established religion as well as their own livelihood.
Jesus was hated only by those who regarded him as the champion of that truth which was destined to overthrow the evil and error which they had determined to hold in their hearts at all cost.[10]
In today’s society there are cases of this variety of hate all over the world. For example both Islam and Christianity have radical elements promoting violence. The political arena also has pockets of hate based on ideological differences.
Those who are affected by rejecting truth are rejecting the truth of God and the light of heaven, they are aligning themselves on the side of error and darkness. There cannot be peace between light and darkness, between life and death, between truth and error.[11]
We must embrace the truth we have been given in The Urantia Book and share it with our brothers and sisters.
Counteracting Hate
Make not the mistake of trying to pluck a mote out of your brother’s eye when there is a beam in your own eye. Having first cast the beam out of your own eye, you can the better see to cast the mote out of your brother’s eye.[12]
Before dealing with other individuals we must first control our own mind. A turbulent mind cannot deal effectively with emotional situations. We begin this transformation by being totally sincere at all times, within ourself and with others. The next step is to recognize every thinking mortal has within them a spark of God and that we are all sisters and brothers. Finally there is a continual and wholehearted desire to do God’s will at all times. While doing this remember, doing our Father’s will is definitely NOT going to be the easy way! Jesus said Think not that I have come to bring peace but rather a soul struggle[13]. We should ask ourself if we have experienced a soul struggle, if not then perhaps we are not following God’s will for our lives.
When interacting with hatemongers never attempt to argue with them; they have a worldview that cannot easily be shaken. The best we can do is try to make peace in the moment and pray that when they reflect later, they will realize the error of their ways.
What does The Urantia Book have to say about this? If we are sincerely seeking to do God’s will we are safe. When the flood tides of human adversity, selfishness, cruelty, hate, malice, and jealousy beat about the mortal soul, you may rest in the assurance that there is one inner bastion, the citadel of the spirit, which is absolutely unassailable;…[14] If we are firm in our faith, we will be secure in our citadel of the spirit.
Hate can only be defeated by love. The love call of the spiritual kingdom should prove to be the effective destroyer of the hate urge of the unbelieving and war-minded citizens of the earthly kingdoms.
Hate can fester and become something terribly evil. We who seek to do God’s will are secure within ourselves and we have the citadel of the spirit. It is up to each one of us to fill this planet with love of truth and love of our Heavenly Father.
[1] 1220.8; all references are to the one column edition of The Urantia Book, in the format page.paragraph.
[2] 1220.7
[3] 1220.1
[4] 1220.2
[5] 1220.10
[6] 1221.2
[7] 576.8
[8] 784.1
[9] 1584.2
[10] 1672.2
[11] 1905.4
[12] 1571.4
[13] 1782.1
[14] 1096.4