RE: You've Got Hate Mail

I would like to thank you all for your encouraging words here regarding my hate mail. To say that this letter did nothing to me at all and that it did not phase me would be a lie. To say that I had no desire to know who this person is and to egg their car is a lie also. But to say that this letter holds any power over my life now would also be a lie. It did, but it does no longer.

When I recieved this in the mail, I opened it without even thinking. I read the opening lineand honestly, I wanted to know what the rest of it said. I put it in my wallet and was not sure of what I should do. Should I stop the poison of this letter in its tracks and bear the brunt of this hate and bitterness alone, or should I spread the poison by letting others read it? I decided to leave it in my wallet and pray over my decision.

Later in the day Kara said to me, "You didn't tell me about the letter." I had told her what I was rolling over in my mind and we talked about the  information that was in the letter and how sad we felt for this person that has nothing better to do with their life than mill over how unhappy they are with change and progress in our church. We talked about how sad this person must be to not have the courage to sign a letter that they were so passionate about. We talked about how our first response is anger and defense, and then after thought and prayer we feel sadness for the sender.

That night we were still talking about the letter, but then we decided to stop talking and start praying. We prayed over the letter and we prayed that God would neutralize the poison of hate that was now in our system, and we prayed that God would deal with the sender and resolve any issues of bitterness, hate, and anger. I felt a sense that God was saying, "Let me deal with this." So I let it go, and honestly, I have the letter taped to my wall in my office, along with many encouraging notes, and it holds no power in me. When I read it, I am not angry, I am not insecure, I am not defensive, I am sad for the sender.

I invite you to pray for this person as you read this post and ask God to reveal to this person the hate and bitterness that is residing in this person's heart. And if you ever get hate mail, know that God is our defender, and we do not need to adjust our self image publically with many words, but we can rely on out God, who is the light of the world, to shine his light of truth into darkness and confusion.

I pose no defense to the sender of the letter but know this one thing: I have been praying for you.