The endless cycle of hatred

Today we learned that the man responsible for the recent attack on a Michigan synagogue was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, and had lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack in Lebanon this month. On and on the endless circle goes, you killed some of mine so I will kill some of yours. Jews and Arabs have been at it for 4,000 years since Abraham kicked Ishmael out of the family. That's a long time to hold a grudge, but not when it's refreshed almost daily.

The author's of The Holy Scriptures, what Christians call the Old Testament, anticipated this problem. Christians interpret "Vengeance is mine saith The Lord" as meaning the God of the Old Testament was a vengeful God, but that's not at all what it means. It means vengeance is not ours. It means it is not our place to seek vengeance. It helps to understand that the Bible was written by humans trying to come up with a blueprint by which humans could coexist and live better lives. But the lesson was never learned. Vengeance has always been treated as a badge of honor. "Getting even" is seen as the righteous thing to do.

But it only compounds the hatred. The wounds never heal. Last week I wrote about how we're still fighting the Crusades. In this country we are still fighting the Civil War. It never ended. The old grievances lived on, and festered, until they erupted in their latest incarnation as MAGA. Eventually MAGA will be defeated, but the hatred won't die. It'll just hide away waiting for an opportunity to spring back to life. Generations of grievances passed down through the ages.

So how do we break the cycle? How do we get off of this endless wheel of hatred? The answer is simple really, we just stop hating. We stop seeking vengeance. We realize love is the answer. But how do you tell that to the child who lost his family in Gaza? or the Israeli families who had loved one brutally murdered by Hamas? How would you or I react if one of our loved ones was murdered? Could we put our thirst for vengeance aside? I don't know if I could. I only know that until we do the cycle will never end.

Tags: #Bike riding

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