Hatred and Forgiveness

So I just watched Hotel Rwanda for the first time. I know I'm a little behind, but ya... I cried through pretty much the whole thing, and I don't cry easily.

It is just so hard to believe how horrible people can be at times. How can people kill another human being? A child? An innocent person? And just because their nose is too narrow or too wide? I know I'm oversimplifying it a little bit, but still...

And yet I'm grateful for people like Paul Rusesabagina. For people who in the face of tremendous horror and danger stepped up and helped those around him, even in the face of threat to his own life. People like that give my hope, that we aren't all bad.

It also reminds me of a story my pastor tells. He was in Liberia last year and while he was walking through Monrovia (the capital) saw things like "We must Forgive" written all over the walls. He began to ask the people there if they really believed that. He found that they did. That they truly believed if they didn't stop trying to get revenge that the fighting would never stop. They also spoke about the power of words. One said that if they thought of each other as cockroaches, like they did in Rwanda, they would believe they were nothing more than that.

I pray that is this really works for Liberia. I pray that they will continue the healing and rebuilding process. And I pray that the rest of us can learn from them.