Daily Devotional – 5/31/12 “How many haters do you have?”

Chile, if I hear about one more person hating on you! I mean really, how many haters can you possibly have? Just because somebody tells you your skirt is showing your butt the first thing you say, “Girl, she just hating.” When in actuality, it doesn’t make her a hater; she just does not want to see your tail. Yea, I know your man loves you and you want the world to know but if he is married to somebody else, he isn’t yours, so folks don’t hate on you when they say they are sick of hearing about him, they are really trying to get you to open your eyes and stop looking stupid. So what if you wear name brand clothes … OK … folks aren’t hating on you because they don’t, they are actually smarter because they are proud to shop at Wal-Mart/Target instead of spending $90 on one shirt, it’s cheaper! Folks aren’t hating when they tell you your attitude is rude, they are trying to get you to open your eyes before you push everybody away and you end up alone. Yea, you can say you don’t care until that day the phone stops ringing and folks stop coming. It’s alright to “do you boo” but stop thinking that folks hate on you when you walk into a room because even though you think you make be all that, you just might not be. It’s cool to be your number one fan but don’t expect everybody else to be, so stop with all the hater talk because if you’re walking God’s path, there isn’t anything the devil or a person on this Earth can do to knock you down from where God has placed you. Will folks talk about, yes! Will folks lie on you and scandalize your name, yes! Will they wish bad over everything your hands touch, yes! Will they wish for the stuff you have, yes! Will they wish sickness on your well days, yes! Will they wish you dead some days because they are jealous of what you have, yes! But this doesn’t make folks haters, this makes them human. This is why Matthew 10:22 says, “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” See, most times it’s not their upbringing that’s the issue but it’s the folks they hang around and some folks do what they know because they haven’t been taught any better but that’s when you pray for them. Matthew 5:44-45 says, “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven, for he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”

If every time someone says something about you and you put them on blast on Facebook/Twitter or you text/email to argue back, you are no better than they are. Oh, but when you let that mess roll off you like oil, they’ll eventually get the point that your life is not based on what folks say or how they feel. You can’t change a person by telling them, every day, what they are doing wrong especially when you’re doing the same thing but you change them by allowing them to see the change in you. James 5:20 says, “Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” Plus, who can read what you’re posting anyway when you’ve misspelled most of the words, used Ebonics or 99% of it is cursing. There is a way to handle all things but you have to be in the right frame of mind and you have to listen. The bible says in James 1:19-20, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” You don’t have haters just because folks are stating their opinion of you, so you need to listen because sometimes those opinions count. Stop taking everything the wrong way because when you do, you may just burn a bridge that you’ll need to cross later. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” If everyone you come into contact with is labeled a hater, you may want to take a step back and look at yourself because you could have hater written across your glasses which means everything you look at will be. Remove the glasses and look again, then you’ll see that all is not what it seems. Now, please don’t get me wrong, you will have folks who wish nothing but bad for others but that doesn’t mean they hate you, they just have a spirit that they have to work on releasing. Is this for you to fix, no but you can pray for them. See, hate is defined as to dislike somebody or something intensely, often in a way that evokes feelings of anger, hostility, or animosity. So, if a person chooses to hate, then they remove themselves from the realm of God which blocks their blessings and cancels their ticket to Heaven. You can’t fix them but, again, you can pray for them because this is your Christian duty. James 5:15 says, “Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.” See, when you pray for others they are healed from whatever that ails them and not only are they blessed but so are you.

You may have been raised differently or you may have grown out of the way you used to be, so you no longer act like a “hater” but not everyone is on the level you are, so pray for them and stop letting them affect who you are. Like I tell my kids; if the person who is talking doesn’t affect your lifestyle in a positive way, then their opinion shouldn’t be held in that high of a regard. Understand, I didn’t say don’t listen but I said if it doesn’t affect you positively but how would you know if you didn’t listen? This is why you have to be careful who you label because they person you stamped a hater could hold the key to the door that God asked them to open for you. Don’t be too quick to throw them out the way because you could be throwing out the blessing you’ve been praying for. Ask yourself these questions: Do they affect the way I walk, talk, live or give? Do they have anything to do with where I live, what I eat, the clothes I wear, the TV I watch or the car I ride in? Can they get me into Heaven? Can they wipe my past clean and forgive me when I sin? Can they wipe my tears away without being in the same room? Can they give me rest at night when I keep tossing and turning? Can I pray to them and they calm my nerves? If the answer is no, then they shouldn’t really matter. Love and pray for them from a distance because it’s your Christian duty. Oh, but if they can open a door that has previously been shut, unblock a new path when your back is against the wall or throw a life jacket when you feel like you’re drowning; they may have a purpose in your life. You do know that God sometime use common folk to bless you, right? Why do you think God gave each of use different talents and gifts? I bless you with my gift of hearing God’s word in a way that can minister to your spirit and you may use your gift of cooking to feed folk or your gift of sewing to clothe folk. You may have a gift of patience that allows you to help folk with their problems or a gift of talking that helps someone who is on the ledge and about to jump. Don’t be quick to push everybody away because you’ve made your mind up on how you should be because they may just be the blessing God sent. Stop being selfish and open up your mind and heart to receive God’s word and work that he has for your life because that hater could be the boost you need to the next level.