Brother Preacher

Today, I write to address an epidemic in our society. Haterdom. I might have made that word up, but it describes how I feel right now. You ever wonder why folks be hating on you for no reason at all? You aint done nothing to them at all. In fact, you are trying to do your thing and be a good contributor to society. But, here they come…Haters. What yall know about haters? Ever heard/felt this from another person: “Well, who does he/she think he/she is? He/she aint no better than me.” And you’re thinking…Aint nobody say they was better than you. Where did that come from? I think the worst haters of all are those you think to be your friends, but then find out they take the first opportunity to criticize you to others. Like that homeboy in high school who wanted to get with the same girl, but never let you know and secretly wooed her. Like that girlfriend who gossips to the beautician about you in the shop, but turns around and hits you with a, “Hey girl!!!!!” Ben Franklin is quoted as saying, “to find out a girl’s faults, praise her in front of her girlfriends.” Once the hater spirit gets on them, those girlfriends can tell you all kinds of stuff. Yall aint hearing me right now. You can tell when haterdom is coming too, because the statements starts like this: “Well you know…” Well you know she was abused by her last boyfriend. Well you know that she has three kids from three different men. Haterdom have taken over this nation!!!!! Be careful around those “well you know” folks. There is a Spanish proverb that says, “Anyone who is willing to gossip TO you will gossip ABOUT you.” Think about that the next time you are getting some “juicy” gossip.

This is particularly important to me as a Christian. How do I handle the haters without succumbing to the urge to curse them out? I gotta keep my witness and hold it together. Gotta consider WWJD rather than WWjohnD. I’m trying to stay saved, but if this joker spreads one more rumor about me I’m gonna have to show him/her I aint no punk. We gotta begin with a definition of hater to understand how to handle them. A hater is one who feels extreme enmity toward another. In other words, this person views another person as their enemy. Haters view you as their enemy, either explicitly or on some subliminal level. You are a threat to them. How should you respond? I’m glad you asked. I don’t want you to think of your haters as enemies in the way we understand it today. Rather, let’s look at God’s idea of haterdom. Let me give you three things you need to know about haters in your life and how you can handle them in the meantime:

 1. Haters reveal God’s purpose.

The Psalmist declares “no wonder the king loves God.” Why? Because God has both a fistful of enemies and a fistful of haters in the king’s life. That sounds strange. Happy about the haters? What does the king know that we don’t know? He knows that haters help reveal God’s purpose. Specifically, they help you grow into your destiny. At 6′4” 180 lbs., I aint much of the weight lifting type. What attracts folks to lifting weights? Results. Growth. The same thing should “attract” you to haters. Weight lifting involves resistance training. Resistance training is a form of strength training in which each effort is performed against a specific opposing force generated by resistance. This is often done so by being pushed, squeezed, and bent. Yall gotta hear me on this one. There is no growth without resistance. Have folks ever bent you outta shape? Good. Ever been in a tight squeeze because of a hater? Good. No pain, no gain! God is your personal trainer. Sometimes the gym of life is overwhelming. Membership does not come with many privileges, but you have an advantage that others don’t have. A personal trainer with a fistful of haters to help you grow.

 2. It’s already fixed.

We worry too much about haters from our perspective. Keep in mind, God finishes a thing before he starts it. Sounds strange don’t it. How do you finish something before you start it? Easy. The Bible declares Him to be the “Author and Finisher of our faith.”-Hebrews 12:2. Any good author knows how a story ends before he/she puts pen to paper. The Bible declares that Jesus was “slain before the foundations of the world.”-Revelation 13:8. Before God said, “Let there be light” He wrote history (His-Story). As part of His-Story, our mouths now just have to be “pens of a ready writer.”-Psalm 45:1. This leads me to my final exhortation.

3. It being fixed depends on your response.

First response: rejoice/joy. But I don’t want you to miss something important in this verse. It says, “for the Son of Man’s sake” (i.e. Jesus’ sake). I aint talking about being hated on for your sake. Rather, this haterdom stems from the relationship you have with Christ. Joy proceeds from relationship. Are you not experiencing joy in the midst of hate? Look at your relationship with Christ. One can only truly rejoice in the midst of being hated on when he/she realizes it is because of their relationship with Christ. People begin to grasp for straws when they notice your life is characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit (peace, longsuffering, joy…). It’s tough for them to find something to accuse you on. There are no scandals, no newsworthy clandestine activities…just relationship.

Second response: serve. Yep, sounds counter-intuitive. The last thing you want to do is serve somebody who gets on your last nerves. But this should be the reasonable response for one who realizes the fight is already fixed. The message of Christ is quite subversive and counter-cultural. He flips the whole script on what we understand to be natural. He takes us into the supernatural and gives us a different perspective. How do you handle haters? Bless ‘em. Invite out to lunch. Serve them. Love them in spite of your feelings. I know, I know…easier said than done. But with God “all things are possible”.-Matthew 19:26. In several weeks, we’ll have the chance to “re-experience” the greatest haterdom of all time. On Easter Sunday, many believers in their best dressed garbs will pack church houses to hear sermons about it. Jesus ate with haters. He served them. More than anything else, he loved them in spite of how he might have felt about them hating on him. As a matter of fact, they gave him some “hater-ade” on the cross in a sponge!!!!!-John 19:29. Despite all this, he realized that they ultimately propelled him to fulfill his ultimate purpose on the Earth. I encourage you all to do the same. Handle the haters with the same passion, conviction, and perspective as Christ.

Handling my haters,