The Dictionary defines hate, verb, as: feel intense or passionate dislike for (someone).
| synonyms: | loathe, detest,despise, dislike,abhor, execrate; |
Hate is a serious feeling, one connected to passion. Last week I was watching the new show "Welcome To Sweden" So far, I am enjoying the show for many reasons. The scenery is lovely, the Summer home is to me a dream kind of home and of course I love listening to all the Swedish dialog. At the same time as the show is entertaining and very funny, there are bits of wisdom that I really appreciate. You get a little glimpse of what other parts of the world view the Americans. There is the stereotypical aspect and then something a bit more philosophical. One scene last week has left me thinking about the over use and perhaps misuse of the word HATE. In the scene, the family is gathered around the table and the mother offers the American boyfriend a cinnamon bun, the young man says, "No thank you. I HATE cinnamon" The parents are perplexed. They start speaking Swedish to one another, "How can you hate cinnamon, its just a spice. I can see hating genocide or Hitler but not cinnamon, cinnamon is just a spice."
We may not like cinnamon, but hating it, that is a bit over the top, hate requires so much emotion. How often do we hear the word hate used. "I hate that store" I hate chicken" "I hate those pens" and on and on. Hate should be a word reserved for serious things perhaps.
We all need to hate less. Focus more on the positive. Use words to match the honesty and true depth of the feeling.
In the Bible, it tells us what God hates...
Proverbs 6:16-1916 "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. " No where in these verses do we see that God hates, zucchini, or figs, or salmon or even cinnamon. Perhaps this is just small matter in some ways, the over use of a word, but in another way, it tells our friends and our children much about our hearts, about how much we feel towards things with no feelings, no reciprocal emotions.
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