Overcoming Hatred

In the darkest days of World War II, when hatred and brutality seemed to rule the world, there emerged a beacon of light from a Dutch Christian named Corrie ten Boom. Her story is not just a story of physical survival in the face of unspeakable cruelty, Instead, it is a story of both physical and spiritual survival, through the power of overcoming hatred with forgiveness.

During World War II, Corrie, along with her family, lived in Haarlem, Holland, at a time when the Nazi killing machine was at it’s worst. But instead of giving into anger, hatred, and fear, the the ten Boom family took a bold and dangerous step, as they they choose to hide Jews in their home from the horrors of persecution and death. And so for years, their home became a sanctuary for Jewish people who were seeking refuge from the Holocaust’s atrocities.

However, in 1944, their secret sanctuary was uncovered, and the ten Boom family paid a heavy price for their compassion. For Corrie, along with her father Casper, sister Betsie, and other family members, were arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Nazi concentration camps And in those hellish places, they endured suffering and cruelty beyond human comprehension. Forced labor, starvation, overcrowding, and brutal treatment by German guards who threatened their lives daily.

And yet, Even in the face of unimaginable suffering, Corrie's sister Betsie displayed remarkable forgiveness toward their Nazi captors, as she would often pray for them! the very people who were inflicting such pain and cruelty upon them!

Their journey eventually led them to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where the horrors of their ordeal reached new depths. But in the midst of this darkness, Betsie whispered to her sister: “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still!”

And yet, despite the loss of their father, and even Betsie, who eventually succumbed to the harsh conditions in the camp. After the war, Corrie dedicated her life to spreading a message of love, reconciliation, and forgiveness. Which to this day serves as an enduring reminder that the love of God is in fact deeper still, than the deep darkness within the hateful human heart.

Why? How? Because Corrie understood the power of God’s love and grace, which alone can overcome the hateful anger of the human heart. And if we want the power she had which enabled her to overcome hatred, then we must come understand 3 things:

To overcome hatred we must understand:

1. The Source of hatred
2. The Strategy for overcoming hatred
3. The Source of Strength for overcoming hatred

1. The Source of hatred

So far in our journey through the book of Jonah, we saw how the Word of the Lord came to Jonah in chapter 1 calling him to go and preach to the Assyrian Ninevites. who were a people that were every bit as brutal and violent as Nazi Germany. In fact, they were inventors of new forms of barbaric cruelty to an almost unimaginable level! And not only were they an extremely violent people, but the Assyrians were Israel’s enemies, and at this time the Assyrian nation was at one of it’s weakest points as a nation, while Israel was at one of it’s strongest! And so when God showed up and told Jonah to go and preach a message of repentance to one of his nations greatest enemies, Jonah was NOT on board, Which is why he boarded a ship in the opposite direction.

But instead of letting Jonah off the hook, God sent a large storm and then a large fish to swallow Jonah, which not only saved his life, but eventually led to Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2 where he repents and comes to realize that salvation belongs to the Lord, which is ENTIRELY by grace! And in verse 10 of chapter 3, Nineveh is spared from the Lord’s judgment because of God’s grace.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah 3:10 ESV

And then in verse 11 of chapter 3, we read: 3. “And Jonah went home praising God for being a gracious God Who is merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

Strangely - that’s not what we read- because there is no verse 11 of chapter 3. In fact, it’s ending is quite the opposite, Because as we see in chapter 4 verse 2, God’s mercy and grace has upset Jonah! It’s made him violently angry! So much so, that he’s ready to die!

In verse 1 of chapter 4 we read:

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

Jonah 4:1 ESV

In the Hebrew, it literally reads: “Jonah became evil with the evil he saw.” This a remarkable verse that is chalk full of so much meaning. as it teaches us something profound about the nature of anger and hatred!

This verse isn’t just saying that Jonah was upset. No - It’s saying so much more than that. It’s telling us that the evil that was characteristic of the people of Nineveh is the same evil that is within the heart of God’s prophet!

Do you see what this is saying? It’s saying that Jonah, like the Ninevites, has murderous hatred within his heart! And this reminds us of what Jesus said in His sermon on the mount:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:21-22 ESV

And so here we have the pagan and immoral Ninevites and God’s prophet, who have the same problem of a hate-filled heart. And out of this hatred, Jonah wants to God to nuke the Assyrian’s for their hateful hearts, while at the same time sparing him and his hateful heart. It is total hypocrisy,

And so now you know why we have a 4th chapter to this book, it’s because even though God has finished dealing with the Ninevites and their hatefulness, He’s now turning to His prodigal prophet so He can treat and cure his hatefulness!

In verse 2, Jonah explains to God why he’s so upset.

And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah 4:2-3 ESV

Do you see what Jonah is saying? He’s saying: “I knew it God! I knew you were compassionate! I knew that you were like that! Just an ounce of repentance and you relent, and shower them with your mercy and grace - and I can’t stand it any longer! “JUST KILL ME, because I don’t want to live in a world with a God like you!”

What a contrast with Jonah’s prayer here and the one he prayed in chapter 2! And we’ll dig into that more deeply in our next sermon, But for now what is Jonah doing? He’s saying that the Ninevites are not deserving of the same mercy and grace that he received in back chapters 1 and 2

OK - yes - that’s true, But here’s the thing Jonah. POT -> KETTLE my friend! Because YOU don’t deserve it ANYMORE than THEY do! That’s why it’s called MERCY and GRACE Because mercy is not giving us we deserve and grace is giving what we do not deserve! and we are all in the same boat!

What Jonah is doing here is he’s reverting back to moralism. He’s reverting back to the idea that the Lord’s salvation is MERIT based instead of GRACE based. But it’s not - is it? and this reversion isn’t unique to Jonah! Because like Jonah, even though we may begin to comprehend God’s grace just as Jonah did back in chapter 2, The reality is - when God doesn’t respond to the evil and suffering we face - we often quickly start sounding like Jonah in chapter 4.

Now, After seeing God refuse to become violent with the violent, Jonah becomes violently angry... and he then goes and sits outside the city hoping that fireballs will come down upon it and wipe them all out! he wants Sodom and Gomorrah! He wants Violence against these Violent pagans and he’s quite upset when he doesn’t see any!

But now here’s the question for us today: Where does violence come from? Does it come from being irreligious? Does it come from being too religious? Well, the answer is yes, because within whatever worldview or religious system you find, you have human hearts, and it doesn’t matter what the worldview is - because the human heart is still pumping self-righteous hatred!

Think about this with me: Not only do we live in a culture that TRAINS us to be TRIBALISTIC by only showing us news feeds we approve of and presenting our enemies as devils. BUT! We all delude ourselves into thinking we are better than we are! For example, when we read stories of people who commit heinous acts of violence, we say: “How awful! How evil! What is WRONG with these people! How could they ever do something so wicked!” But then, without even skipping a step, we we comfort ourselves thinking: “I would NEVER do something so evil!”

Really? Are you so sure? Are you really ready to say, that if you grew up with the same parents, the same genetics, the same influences, that YOU would never have done what the Nazi’s did? What makes you so sure? What about YOU is inherently SUPERIOR to THEM in anyway shape or form? Is it your DNA - what is it? Because that’s exactly what we are saying when we think this way!

Do you know why Betsie ten Boom was able to pray for her Nazi guards AS THEY WERE COMMITTING ACTS OF EVIL AGAINST HER? It’s because she understood that the difference between her and them WAS a matter of COMMON GRACE! What do I mean? I mean that Betsie understood the evil of her own human heart, and that their roles could have EASILY been reversed! Because the primary difference between her heart and the Nazi’s hearts wasn’t a difference in heart quality It was a difference in COMMON GRACE! And apart from God’s grace in her life, she too could have easily been a part of their ranks, And Jonah’s response in chapter 4 shows us this!

Do you struggle with this idea? Does it seem to shirk responsibility too much? As Americans, I’m sure you do. Because we are a “pull yourself up from your bootstraps” kind of people. A people who value freedom of choice and individuality. And while some of that is good, the truth is, we all share in the commonality of having a hate-filled heart that is murderously violent apart from the grace of God.

Understanding this, the great theologian G. K. Chesterton once responded to Times Magazine’s question: “What’s wrong with the world today?” Saying: “Dear Sirs, I am, Sincerely yours, G. K. Chesterton.

Why did Chesterton respond this way? It was because he understood that humanity’s core problem isn’t our environment, our bad choices, lack of education, BUT SIN - which has affected us ALL!

The truth is, as the Bible tells us, the world is not made up of “good guys” and “bad guys,” but as the great Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once said:

“The line between good and evil passes not through [states, classes, nor between political parties] but right through every human heart.”

Even though we do not want to admit it, the truth is - my heart, your heart, the Nazi’s hearts, Ninevites hearts, and even Jonah’s hearts are all murderously hateful! And so the main differences between us is not a difference in inherit QUALITY, but a difference in external CIRCUMSTANCE! And until you come to understand this, not only will you respond to violence with a heart of violence, But you will never understand the grace and mercy of God!

With this in mind, Jesus says:

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Matthew 15:18-19 ESV

After the Holocaust, British historian Lord David Cecil said: “The jargon of the philosophy of progress taught us to think that the savage and primitive state of man is behind us . . . But barbarism is not behind us, it is [within] us.”

Do you believe this? because until you do, you will continue to be like Jonah here in chapter 4. You’ll be full of self-righteous pride and arrogance. Which will prevent you from humbly receiving the grace and mercy of God in your life.

To overcome hatred we must understand:

2. The Strategy for overcoming hatred

At this point, perhaps you’re thinking: “OK, so it doesn’t matter how evil we are - it’s all the same to God!” No - no it’s not. God doesn’t wink at sin or evil at all. For He’s still the same God who rained fire from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. Which WAS going to reign down upon Nineveh apart from repentance! BUT, make no mistake, God is just as opposed to that kind of evil as he is to the more restrained evil we see in Jonah’s heart.

This path month I’ve been reading Keller’s book on Jonah, and in it he points out how we often respond to evil - even as Christians.

See, when it comes to human anger, there’s two wrong paths we can take. And we’ll call these paths the vengeance or the path of resignation Or what I call - the FIGHT or FLIGHT paths.

See - when someone wrongs you, when someone does evil to you, hurts you, or abuses you, the FIGHT path is the path of vengeance. Which God absolutely opposes! BUT, there is another path to hateful anger, which is the FLIGHT path Which is the path of resignation.

So with the FIGHT path, we use vengeance to attack our attackers! But in this, our goal isn’t up holding justice or truth, it’s not doing the right thing for God and this world, Oh no - it’s much more simple than all that, it’s saying: “you took one of my eyes, I’m taking BOTH of yours!” It’s vengeance! Which doesn’t overcome the evil - it just ADDS to it, all because we want to pacify our anger. We are looking for an outlet for it to satisfy our blood lust.

But with the FLIGHT path, the resignation path, we say: “just let it go!” “Just move on!” “Cut that evil person off from your life and try to forget about it and them!” But is this any more righteous than the other path? The path of vengeance? NO! Because both of these paths are not thinking about the truth or justice, they aren’t thinking about what the world needs to be a better place... Nope - they are thinking about your own hurt! That’s it! Which isn’t loving or godly.

As Keller rightly put it: What’s ironic is, as different as vengeance and resignation appear on the surface, you know, the “pummeler” and the avoider, they’re both dealing with their own hurt in a selfish way. They’re doing it by permanently excluding the wrongdoer, saying, “I do not want a relationship with you. I never want a relationship with you. I put you outside the circle of my community permanently and forever.” The avoider usually looks more controlled and less vengeful and more Christian, but it’s not much different.

So what are supposed to then if both of these paths are dead end solutions to dealing with the injustice of our world? The solution is to take a different path entirely. which is, the path of forgiveness. And the path of forgiveness is neither resignation or vengeance. It’s not fight or flight. See - It’s not rubbing some dirt in it and just LETTING things go! No, it is, as we saw several weeks back from Romans 12 - OVERCOMING EVIL WITH GOOD! That’s what FORGIVENESS IS!

Yes, forgiveness is NOT forgetting! Not at all - no one should be saying that. Instead, Forgiveness is dealing with your hate and anger and getting rid them BEFORE you deal with the wrongdoer.

Think about it With the path of vengeance and resignation - the FIGHT and Flight responses - you’re dealing with your anger and hate AS YOU DEAL with the wrongdoer! With vengeance, you’re channeling your hate and anger towards the wrongdoer in order to actively extract your pound of flesh! But with resignation, you’re dealing with your hate and anger by cutting that person off, which is a passive way of extracting your pound of flesh. Either way, you’re dealing with them in a selfish way that seeks your good, not theirs.

But again - as Kelly rightly points out - neither of those is dealing with your hurt and anger FIRST so that you can then lovingly address the wrongdoer and the wrong that they’ve done. But with the path of forgiveness, once you’ve address your anger and hurt - what do you? You go to the person and confront them as you speak the truth in love Which is neither about extracting payment for the hurt they caused, Nor cutting them off for the hurt they caused. Instead, you’re dealing with it FOR GOODNESS’S SAKE - not your sake.

And until we have RADICALLY & COMPLETELY FORGIVEN the person - we will always OVERREACH! We will not confront them for their sake or for God’s sake - or for the good of others! Instead, we will confront them for our own sake, and not only will we always overreach, but the hurt and pain we are trying to extract either actively or passively CANNOT HEAL US! In fact, it will only further embitter us as the anger and hatred within our hurts consumes us! But once we have forgiven, and only then, we can pursue godly justice.

In 2018, the world stood in shock and outrage when Olympic gymnast Rachael Denhollander confronted her coach and abuser, Larry Nassar, for years of sexual abuse committed against her and her fellow teammates. and despite desperately wanting to resign herself and avoid dealing with her abuser, she stood boldly before the court pleading with them to hand down the strongest of possible sentences. And why? Not for vengeance sake, but for goodness’s sake! For the sake of all the other little girls across the country who needed protection from men like Larry Nassar, and who would think twice upon hearing the severe sentence he faced.

Then - after pleading with the court to hand down the strongest of sentences, Rachael turned to Larry and said: In our early hearings, you brought your Bible into the court, and you have spoken of praying for forgiveness, so it is on that basis that I appeal to you. If you have read the Bible you carry, you know that the definition of sacrificial love portrayed in it, is of God Himself loving so sacrificially that He gave up everything to pay the penalty for sin He did not commit. By His grace, I too, choose to love, no matter what it costs. You spoke of praying for forgiveness, but Larry, if you have read the Bible you carry, then you know that forgiveness does not come by doing good things, as if good deeds can wipe out the incredible evil you have committed. It comes from repentance, which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done, in all its utter depravity and horror. Without mitigation. Without excuse. Without pretending you can cover it with good things. The Bible you carry says it is better for a millstone to be tied around your neck and you thrown into a lake than for you to make even one child stumble. And Larry, you have wounded hundreds of children. The Bible you carry speaks of a final judgment where all of God’s wrath, in all its eternal terror, is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the weight of guilt in the face of the horrific evil you committed, will be crushing. And that is what makes the Gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it gives hope and grace where none should be found. And I pray you experience the soul-crushing weight of guilt someday, so that it can be followed by true repentance and forgiveness from God.

To overcome hatred we must understand:

3. The Source of Strength for overcoming hatred

Once we’ve come to understand the source of hatred and the strategy for overcoming hateful anger, How can we possibly bring ourselves to living it out like Corrie ten Boom and Rachael Denhollander did in the face of their perpetrators?? By understanding the answer to God’s simple question that we see in verse 4.

And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah 4:4 ESV

If you look at those who’ve harmed you, and think: “I would never do what they did” then you’ll answer that question with a clear and resounding "YES!” But you’d be wrong For the truth is, NONE OF US DO WELL TO BE ANGRY like Jonah was! For the truth is, we all - like Nineveh, like the Nazis, and like Larry Nassar - deserve the same wrath of God, in all of its eternal terror, poured out upon us! And yet, there is one reason and one reason alone that we can avoid that fate. which Jonah ironically described in verse 2.

Jonah 4:2 (ESV) … for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

The degree to which we KNOW AND EXPERIENCE that love, mercy, and grace, is the degree to which we will find the source of strength to lovingly forgive others and overcome evil with good!

In verse 5, after hearing God’s question to Jonah, Jonah persisted in his anger and goes outside of the city to wait and see if God’s wrath might fall upon the city. And ohhh what a contrast we have here between Jonah and the Jesus Christ who is the greater Jonah.

In verse 5, Jonah goes outside of the city that could have killed and didn’t, and angrily roots for it’s destruction! But in Matthew 23, Jesus Christ looks upon a city that is going to kill him, and He weeps over it, saying: Matthew 23:37-38 (ESV) “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Do you want to know the source of strength for overcoming a hateful heart? Because it’s right here. For this is the solution for the hateful anger that lies within our hearts! For instead of taking an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, absorbed our violence without paying it back! And Why? So he could die for our sins so that we MIGHT live completely forgiven before God and be loved by Him! And when I’ve come to see what He’s done for me, it melts away the hate and anger within my heart enabling me to love and forgive others, just as He did for me.

Do you know that love? Have you experienced it’s healing power in your life in a way that leads you to kill your anger and hatred as you serve your enemies and pray for those who persecute you? If not - hear the Words of our Lord: "Do you do well to be angry?” And the answer is: no we do not. And so may each of us receive His love freely and fully For He is a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love!

Let us pray

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.