When unchecked, it does control people, narrowing focus to vengeance or division while blinding us to empathy or growth. Think of it as emotional quicksand: the more you struggle against it, the deeper it pulls.
**It hijacks your brain: Hate activates the amygdala (fear center), flooding the body with cortisol and adrenaline, much like fight-or-flight. This overrides the prefrontal cortex (rational thinking), making decisions impulsive and obsessive—hence stories of lifelong grudges or mob mentalities.
**Cycle of Consumption: It feeds on rumination (replaying slights), creating a self-reinforcing loop. It's described as the "dark side of love," inverting attachment into destruction, where the hater loses sleep, health, and joy over the hated.
The lack of gripping the real world: History's villains (e.g., tyrants fueled by ethnic hate) or everyday feuds show how it escalates from personal slights to societal rifts, controlling crowds via propaganda or echo chambers.
Hate thrives in isolation, but it can be starved out if want to starve it! Gratitude, forgiveness, and exposure dilute its power. "Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for it to kill your enemies." - Nelson Mandela
Scripture calls hate "murder in the heart" (1 John 3:15), a proud heart's trap (Proverbs 16:18), but offers freedom: "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44) isn't naive—it's a kingdom-come strategy to break the cycle, echoing the martyrs' non-violent witness.
In short, hate wants to control you, but you're the one with the off-switch. If it's personal (yours or someone's), talking it out or seeking counsel can douse the flames.
Is Hate an All-Consuming Emotion That Controls People?
HATE can feel—and often is—an all-consuming force, hijacking the mind like a wildfire that scorches reason, relationships, and even one's own well-being.
3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.
4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God.
4 cont. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. 8 He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.
9 And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them
10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years.
A "proud heart" (mean an exalted or haughty heart) symbolizes arrogance, self-reliance, and rebellion against God. It's not mere confidence but a sinful elevation of self above God's authority and others' dignity, leading to spiritual downfall.
Pride is listed as one of the seven deadly sins in tradition and is repeatedly condemned as an "abomination" because it blocks humility, repentance, and a relationship with God. The antidote? Humility and fear of the Lord (Proverbs 11:2; James 4:10).
Saint Michael the Archangel, we ask that you defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness & snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls
