“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.”
Let me tell you the story of Binyoni, the Principal of a Christian school in Burundi.
His name means “Little Bird” and he was called this because he had a beautiful gift of music and was constantly singing and encouraging people in their faith.
There came a time of political unrest in the country and the ruling Tutsis were systematically seeking out leaders in the Hutu community and murdering them.
Binyoni was a Hutu and one day, he and his eleven teachers were taken by a group of Tutsi soldiers who had been given orders to put them to death. As they were being escorted up the hill to their place of execution, Binyoni turned to the soldiers and asked if he could pray for them.
Although shocked by this, the soldiers allowed him to do so.
Binyoni prayed, “God be with them. They will have to live with this terrible burden of what they are about to do Lord, so please send someone who will share Your love, grace, and forgiveness with them.”
The 12 men then sang the old hymn, “Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come…” before being shot to death.
The soldiers had never witnessed anything like this before and they headed directly to the local pub to get drunk as quickly a possible, in the hope of suppressing their guilt over what they had done.
All of them, except their leader.
Racked with guilt, the young Lieutenant sought out the local Christian Bookstore where he asked the old missionary to tell him about the “God Who enables people to die like this…I want to know Him.”
This is how we know the story of Binyoni.
The Lieutenant came to faith in Christ and began leading Bible studies, telling others about Jesus. In time, he too was executed, but not before hundreds of people had become Christians.
The story of Binyoni bears out, in the most powerful way, the truth of what Solomon said:
“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.” Proverbs 10:12
How easy it is for anger to turn to hatred!
And when that line is crossed, it always leads to strife, and in extreme situations, death.
But Solomon’s proverb tells us there is a greater force at work in the world than anger and hate: love.
Love covers all wrongs.
In the worst of all circumstances, Binyoni responded with love, and the sins and guilt of many were covered. We should not think God turned a blind eye to the injustice done to Binyoni and his friends – far from it.
But what we do see is how God reaches out with His offer of mercy and forgiveness to people who did horrible things, because one man chose to respond, not with his own hatred, but with love: the same love that enabled Jesus to endure persecution, unjust treatment, and death for us.
Jesus’ love for us covered all our wrongdoing.
How can we not be challenged by this?
I think of the grievances done to me and the temptation for me to hate those who have wronged me. But then I remember I am called to follow the example of Jesus too – to love, and to live, as far as possible, in peace with those around me, no matter what they have done.
And I remember I can do this, because Jesus loves me, and gives me the power to love like He does.
Is there someone you hate?
Then it’s time to ask God to help you love them, because “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.”
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