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Praying With a Hate-Filled Heart

Praying With a Hate-Filled Heart

Last updated on: August 7, 2026 at 5:57 pm by Frank Viola

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Praying With a Hate-Filled Heart 2026-08-07T17:57:57-04:00 Frank Viola

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I marvel in disbelief when some professing Christians I know tell me they pray to God every night, yet live their lives are full of anger and hatred toward people they disagree with politically (or theologically).

Let me give you an example.

Demetrius Splitkin lives in the United States. He’s older than most of you.

Demetrius loves his country, and he’s a news junkie.

Mr. Splitkin tells his friends, “I pray every night to God that ____ will win the upcoming election. If not, this country is going down the tubes!”

At the same time, Demetrius hurls invectives daily at his television set when various pundits and politicians appear on the screen.

Demetrius’ scabrous rantings sound like this,

“I hate that scum@#g so much I wish he’d have a stroke and die! He’s a disgusting basta#@d”

And …

“I wish someone would assassinate that woman and put a bullet in her head. She’s despicable, pure evil!”

Yet despite Mr. Splitkin’s seething hatred and unbridled abhorrence toward other mortals, he “prays to God every night” for his country.

My response: What planet am I living on?

First, Demetrious is living in the United States of Amnesia. I mean, EVERY election in recent memory has been billed as “the most important upon which hangs the demise of the country.” (I’m not suggesting that this has never been the case, only that we keep seeing this same movie every four years.)

Second, and more important, how can someone who knows anything about Jesus Christ think that hating people is even remotely acceptable?

Demetrius doesn’t know Jesus or His ways, despite that he “prays to God every night.”

When did disagreement with a person’s views and behavior turn into hatred and a denial that they are made in God’s image?

(By the way, this spirit of hatred in the “Christian” camp is the very reason why I wrote ReGrace, which is a wake-up call to Christians who treat other believers horribly over doctrinal/theological/political disagreements. Unfortunately, those who need to read the book the most don’t even know it exists.)

How many of you know someone like Demetrius Splitkin, a benighted soul who prays daily for his/her country yet spews venom out of a hate-filled heart?

Somehow I think befuddled people like Splitkin are much more common than we’d like to believe.

By contrast, what follows describes the lifestyle and the posture of those who have joined the Insurgence and live in the kingdom of God – not in pious rhetoric, but in reality:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

~ Jesus in Matthew 5:38-48

Some seem to think that these words apply to everything and everyone except politicians and news reporters.

Ahem.

Given the political climate in the world right now, there’s no better time for my landmark work, Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and The Insurgence Podcast. Access both HERE.

The book and podcast both address the political system from a perspective that’s uncommon to both the “Christian” Conservative Right and the “Christian” Progressive Left.

Psalm 115:1

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