life wasted on hating

Lamentations 2:15-16 (JDV)

Lamentations 2:15 All who pass by scornfully clap their hands at you. They hiss and shake their heads at Daughter Jerusalem: Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole land?
Lamentations 2:16 All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day we have waited for! We have lived to see it.”

life wasted on hating

The sad truth is that many today are only living to see the downfall of their enemies. Jesus calls us to love our enemies. One of the reasons this is a wise choice is quite practical: hating is just a waste of your life. These enemies of Jerusalem lived for the day it would be destroyed and in ruins. Then what? All that potential life and love was spent wasted on hating, when it could have been invested by loving.

Lord, give us the wisdom to love — not because people are lovable, but because it is an investment which lasts.