Don't Allow Hate to Beget Hate

In the wake of these recent shootings, I hear people claiming this one is a right-wing extremist and this one is a left-wing extremist. When I hear these outrageous claims, I think that people are trying to paint with the same brush anyone who has any commonalities as these men who had allowed themselves to be filled with bitterness and who fed on their anger. These men are hateful extremists, period. I don't believe either side of the spectrum would claim them as their own.

We don't need to polarize each other. Everyone has different views and should be free to express them without the fear of being clumped in the same category as a murderer. I am pro-life but I do not condone the murder of an abortion provider. Another person is anti-war but doesn't condone the murder of a U.S. soldier. And racism is just plain stupid. To quote Prince of Thieves, "God likes variety."

Let's not demonize each other. I suggest the proper reaction is to convey our sympathy and grief to those families that have lost a loved one and allow no root of bitterness and hate to take hold of us. The more people hate each other, the more damage is done to our souls and we become that which we don't want to be. Angry. Hateful. Bitter.

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Psalm 27:13-14