Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate
Hey team. All right, Wednesday Workshop. So here we are. Martin Luther King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” I agree. I don’t know about you, but in all honesty, I have wasted time and torn myself up being angry or bitter about maybe the way I’ve been treated. There have been times in my life that maybe downright hated was very, very upset with another person. And I let it consume me. One person might say I let them have free rent in the space of my mind.
Hate doesn’t drive out hate. If somebody else is feeling that somebody hates you or somebody’s mad at you. Or they’ve been mean to you and they’re doing it on purpose toward you. Worrying, anguish, spinning yourself up trying to think of revenge. Revenge is a bitter thing because it ends up destroying everybody. There’s an old saying: “An eye for an eye leaves the world blind.” It doesn’t do us much good.
So, I don’t know where this little quote or this message lands on your doorstep. I believe that we probably have some team leaders and team members out here who need to hear this. Heck, maybe in a couple of weeks when this is aired, I’ll listen to it, and I’ll say, “Man, that’s a good message.” I don’t know how many of you guys realize that, but I do stack these up sometimes and do a few in a row, and then they get posted a few weeks later. I do watch my own videos. I’m not a narcissist or anything. It’s just amazing to me that sometimes I can say something weeks ago, and then I can listen to it, and I go, “Man, I needed that today,” and I hope that happens for you today.
I hope that whoever needs this message, it lands on. Don’t be angry, don’t be bitter. Don’t get upset, don’t hate, and let worry and anguish consume you in such a way that it doesn’t do you any good. It doesn’t add value to your life; it just makes you bitter. And bitterness, like cancer, can eat away at you in such a way that people who actually love you or care about you will not want to spend as much time around you because of the bitterness that you have in you. You’re constantly thinking about and fuming about a situation.
I know that somebody who just heard that said, “But Chad, you don’t understand.” You’re right. I don’t understand your situation, but in hundreds of books that I’ve read and dozens of messages that I’ve both given and heard and situations I’ve seen play out in people’s lives, both team members, family, etc., I have seen hate and bitterness and worry and anguish destroy a person’s life. It doesn’t do you any good. You need to find a more constructive way to let go of those things and forgive. Sometimes forgiveness can be the best medicine because you can release that person to do what they do. You can move forward, move on, and have a productive, loving, caring relationship.
If a fisherman loses a fish at sea and he spends all of his time worrying about the fact that he didn’t catch that fish and he never puts his pole back in the water, well then he never has an opportunity to win another fish, to catch another fish. I don’t know if that’s making sense to you, but what I’m trying to say is that if you spend all your time worrying about the anguish and the frustration and things that you’re dealing with, maybe with one person, you don’t put your pole back in the water. You don’t have an opportunity to catch another friendship, to build another relationship, something that’s going to be meaningful for you long term.
So, on this beautiful Wednesday, remember to be valuable because nothing less will do. And please know that all of us on the leadership team, Karen, and I, and the executive team, and everybody else here, we love you, and we appreciate you. We want to see you thrive and grow and not have something that’s weighing you down. So, if there’s anything else I can do to help you, my door’s open. I’m happy to listen, and we care about you. So, God bless you on this beautiful Wednesday. Go out there and conquer, have a wonderful week. Talk to you later next week. Bye.