7 Benefits of Loving People You Don't Like - Spiritual Nugget 3

​I have been guilty of saying that I can’t stand the smell of onions, garlic, fish, etc. At some time during my life journey, I also have sinfully made a not so positive remark about another person.

I have personally experienced going to a restaurant where someone made an offensive remark about me because I am black. To seal their dislike, as I left the restaurant, I watched them break the glass from which I drank.
 
I frequently read stories where a person or persons make disrespectful remarks about others because they hate their religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation. The world has become a battleground of hatred strewn with people wounded by bashing, name-calling, social media mudslinging, and character assassination.

As a believer in the Bible, I am told that mankind was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). What does that mean? Let’s start with God saw that everything He made was very good. (Genesis 1:31) 

Mankind comes with a built-in space created by God to house goodness and his true self. So, how do I have the right to dislike someone who is from the same source as I am?

Moving past the original creation, I learn how Adam decided to question God’s warning about his death. Well, we all know how Adam’s free choice turned out. From that moment, he stepped into a world of ethical and physical evil. Man’s original nature, placed in him by God, is altered and feelings and emotions are now the life driver.

When the words, "I don’t like, I hate, or I can’t stand…” come from my mouth in referring to another person, I am saying I don’t like what you do, how you act, or what views you have that are different from mine. One of the biggest I don’t like remarks is, “I don’t like you because you are from a different racial background.”

Dislike originates in behavior as a root of fear, insecurity, and lack of faith in God. In fact, dislike is an action based on feelings and emotions. It is rooted in the way I act, conduct myself or function.

Dislike makes me act like I am buying produce at the supermarket. I can pick and choose the best fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, genuine love means I don’t get to pick and choose to whom I express God’s love. Developing genuine love (Christ’s love), means I replace the focus of my thoughts on the behavior I dislike, and allow my mind to be directed by the Holy Spirit. 

Loving those whom you dislike brings the following benefits:

• Your words and actions become pathways to peace.
• You replace bitterness toward people with confidence in God’s purpose for all Mankind.
  
• You bury the Pharisaic legalistic/judgmental attitude
• You shake off the “them and us” mentality.
• You make the center of your thoughts about love. 
• You learn to give off warmth and love to those you don’t like.
• You will begin to see a change in the response of the “unlikeable people” toward you.

Learning to love those you don’t like takes patience, endurance, and faith. God’s timetable is perfect. The good news is that if you are a believer, you came equipped with these qualities. 

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