Dealing with haters

In arguably his most poignant movie role, the late actor Michael Clarke Duncan played an inmate in a Southern prison awaiting execution in 1999's "The Green Mile."

Duncan's character, John Coffey, was a big bear of a man physically, yet remarkably gentle in spirit.

Offered a chance to go free, Coffey declined the opportunity because he was weary of the world.

"I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. It feels like pieces of glass in my head," Coffey told jail guard Paul Edgecomb, played by multiple Oscar winner Tom Hanks.

Earlier this week, I had a brief conversation with a young man who waits on me often.

He told me he was having a horrible day.

After gentle prodding, he revealed the cause of his discomfort -- a customer behaving badly.

Tempted to offer a bromide or some tired platitude to brighten his spirit, instead the words of John F. Kennedy popped into my head.

In a June 1963 speech, a little more than five months before his death, the nation's 35th president told graduating students at American University that it is good to remember a basic existential truth.

To wit: we are all in this world together.

"In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal," said Kennedy.

JFK was talking about the former Soviet Union nearly 60 years ago in that commencement address, but his words apply to interpersonal relations too.

If we can remember we're all in the same metaphysical "boat", so to speak, Kennedy seemed to say -- maybe we can treat each other better.

Jesus and haters

The New Testament offers numerous examples of Jesus performing miracles and healings -- and others despising him for it.

They hated Jesus for helping.

One vivid cases may be found in Luke chapter 6,

Jesus entered a synagogue to teach and his detractors -- identified as scribes and Pharisees -- went to watch him, for they suspected the Lord would do a healing on the Sabbath day.

The Master did not disappoint.

Spotting a man whose hand was "withered", according to the English Standard Version, Jesus healed the man's infirmity.

Making a person whole again physically normally is an occasion for celebration.

In the watchers, however, the act of compassion inspired something else.

"They were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus," reads Luke 6:11.

Coping strategy

Later in chapter 6, a remarkable 10 verses are offered for our perusal as to how to deal with haters.

"Love your enemies and do good, lend, expect nothing in return, and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil," verse 35 reads.

Reading between the lines, the Jesus message seems to be the following: don't try to change the haters but act as God would -- love, do good and be kind.

The other day, I was texting a friend and we discussed how we each have enemies known to us.

We mutually recognized those opinions are entrenched and long-lasting.

While effort could be expended to change the thoughts of haters, a more reasonable approach is to rise above vitriol and act in a way enemies least expect -- with courtesy, goodwill and yes, even love.

Love is not to be defined as affection, for this is asking too much in the face of hate.

If love in its most basic form is properly defined active caring about the welfare of a perceived enemy, well, this I can do.

You can as well, I suspect.

We can say with a high degree of confidence it is what Jesus would expect.