Hate

George Harrison pastors the First Baptist Church, National Baptist Convention, in Waco, Texas. When George was fourteen years old, he washed dishes at a seafood restaurant. One night the dishwasher broke, and the owner made George wash the dishes by hand. The lye-based soap removed the outer layer of George's hands. It took five weeks for his hands to heal. The owner neither apologized not helped George with medical expenses. George vowed to return one day and give the owner a piece of his mind.

Twenty-three years later George approached the owner at his restaurant. The owner recognized George, said he heard that George was a Christian and a pastor, and asked him to pray for his ailing feet. Instead of blasting the owner for his callousness twenty-three years earlier, George replied, "It would be a privilege to pray for you." At that moment compassion replaced hate and revenge in George's heart. He wrote: "I knelt down on my knees at that crowded restaurant and prayed for him. I realized that hate is a waste of time, for with humans a positive change of heart is impossible, but with God all things are possible."'