Love Wins, Hate Comes In A Close Second

I like the Creation Story in the Hebrew Scriptures. I may not believe it, I may think it’s a parable, I may think it’s a myth; but I like it. “God created the heavens and the earth. God created all the animals. God created humankind. And God saw that it was very good.” Peace prevailed; it was the Garden of Eden; it was heaven on earth. The lion lies down with the lamb and doesn’t devour it. The alligator lies down with the deer and doesn’t devour it. The televangelist lies down with the widow’s retirement money and doesn’t devour it. Love is all around. Love is everywhere. Love wins. But wait. The serpent is slithering towards Adam and Eve, preparing to fool them into doing something wrong. And they do. Love wins, hate comes in a close second.

Oprah did her last TV talk show this past week. I watched it, which I don’t think most men did, or would admit to. I liked her show. I’ve always liked Oprah. Maybe because we were both born the same year. Or maybe because Oprah is worth billions of dollars and I’m, you know, priceless. Actually it’s because I thought Oprah was the greatest preacher in America. She lifted people’s spirits. She inspired people to be better. She got people reading – actual books, not just Facebook. She made people look at the stuff in their lives they’d just as soon ignore. She spoke truth to power. To me, Oprah personifies love in the way Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama personifies love, in the way Hindus believe Gandhi personifies love, in the way Christians believe Jesus personifies love. Oprah always had a classy show. Oprah’s show was filled with love. Other shows were filled with hate, with chair throwing and fists flying and hair pulling. And Oprah always beat those other shows in the ratings. So Oprah proved that: Love wins, hate comes in a close second.

On this Memorial Day Weekend, the world is at peace. Which means there aren’t any wars being fought in America. Of course that doesn’t mean America isn’t at war. It is: in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Libya and who knows where else. This weekend we’re supposed to honor those who’ve fallen in war. And we do. I just wish we’d honor them by not starting any more wars and getting out of the wars we’re in. Wars are started at the drop of a hat, on a whim, sometimes without any reason or with manufactured reasons. So while billions of people are at peace this Memorial Day Weekend, tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of people have died in wars in recent years. So: Love wins, hate comes in a close second.

Rob Bell wrote a book recently, as you know, called, “Love Wins.” Inexplicably, it generated a lot of hate. All Rob Bell said was, essentially, God doesn’t hate anybody, God doesn’t want anybody to spend eternity in Hell, God wants everybody to get to Heaven. And many Christians went nuts. I don’t get it. I don’t understand why Christians say, “Oh no, Rob Bell; you don’t understand, God’s heart is filled with hate for a whole lot of people.” Then why not change the lyrics of a popular Christian song, from “Our God is an awesome God,” to, “Our God is a hateful God”? I don’t understand why Christians didn’t say, “Thank you, Rob Bell; I never have understood how Jesus could be so loving and yet God, his Father, could be so hateful.” Love may win, but many Christians seem to want to make sure hate comes in a close second.

The Rapture didn’t happen this past Saturday. Many people were disappointed. The man who predicted the Rapture happening on May 21st has revised his prediction. Now it will come October 21st. I have to admit; I don’t understand the Rapture. God’s people will be lifted up to heaven? Then Jesus will come in a cloud and start killing his enemies? Come again? Jesus, the guy who said, “Love your enemies,” will come back and kill his enemies? Jesus, the guy who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” will come back and wage war? Jesus, the guy who said, “Forgive and you will be forgiven,” will comeback and be unforgiving? Does that make any sense? What will Jesus look like, Rambo? Will Gandhi come back as Godzilla? Will the Buddha come back as Hitler? And many people seem positively gleeful over Jesus coming back to kill his enemies. Not to mention people spending eternity in hell. Why would that make anybody happy? What if love wins, period?

Moses killed a man before he started his spiritual journey. You may remember, a Jew and an Egyptian were fighting and Moses came along and killed the Egyptian. Then he fled. God called Moses from the burning bush, according to the Hebrew Scriptures. God helped Moses lead his people out of Egypt. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. God showed Moses the Promised Land. All that after he’d killed a man. I think the point of all that is: No matter how we start out on our spiritual journey, love can win over hate.

On my radio show a couple weeks ago, I said I believe that all, or most all churches, will welcome gays into the pew and into the pulpit within five to ten years. Our guest said that I’m the most optimistic person she’s ever met. I am an optimist, but I’m not the only one. If I’m an optimist, so is Dr. King, who said, “The arch of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” If I’m an optimist, so is Mother Teresa, who said, “Peace begins with a smile.” If I’m an optimist, so is Jesus, who said, “I give you a new commandment that you love one another.” Dr. King, Mother Teresa and Jesus all knew that love wins, even if hate comes in a close second. Maybe love will win sooner, rather than later.

A new poll shows, for the first time, that a majority of Americans – 53 percent – support same-sex marriage. So 53 percent of Americans, who’ve presumably heard all the hateful words against gays, all the hateful biblical passages against gays, all the hateful misinformation against gays, choose to ignore it all. They come down on the side of love. They see loving gay couples and loving lesbian couples, who just want to get married like everyone else and they say, “Go ahead.” A few states allow gay marriage. Many do not. When the whole country allows gay marriage, we’ll be able to say: Love wins, even when hate comes in a close second.

I went before the Holland City Council a week or two ago. I reminded them that I’d come before them one year ago this month, asking them to pass a gay rights ordinance. I wondered where things stand. The mayor told me they’d take it up in June. I got to thinking about a 7th grade boy who’s gay, who’s just about to come out of the closet. I got to thinking about a 7th grade girl who’s lesbian, who’s just about to come out of the closet. If the Holland City Council won’t offer equal rights to gays and lesbians, will that gay boy and lesbian girl say to themselves, “I guess Holland doesn’t want someone like me here. I better stay in the closet until I graduate, then I’ll leave Holland for good.” And if the city votes against equal rights, what will it say to the 7th grade boy who’s a bully or the 7th grade girl who’s a bully? Will they say to themselves, “Well, if the city of Holland isn’t going to protect homosexuals, I guess I’m free to bully them”? The Holland City Council has a huge responsibility. I hope they decide to let love win, even if hate comes in a close second.

James Reeb was killed working for equal rights in the world. He was a Unitarian Universalist minister. He marched for Civil Rights in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Segregationists beat him and killed him. His death outraged Americans. A few days later, President Johnson’s Voting Rights Act reached Congress. Many people were killed during the Civil Rights struggle. But the killings didn’t stop Civil Rights laws from passing. Love wins, even when hate comes in a close second.

So where are you on your spiritual journey? Are you a supporter of equal rights, like James Reeb? Are you self-actualized, like Oprah? Do you inspire people? Do you lift them up? Do you help them? (I know many of you do.) Wherever you are, my hope for your spiritual life is that: Love wins and hate comes in a far, far, far distant second.