Things I hate

So, I've been mulling this around in my head this week...even talked to a few people about it. I realized that I have some irrational hatreds, and I've been exploring where they come from.

1--I hate French. I think it is mainly the language, but it is also tied to the culture that is stereotyped of the French being haughty. I don't hate people that speak French--I have plenty of friends who love it, love Paris--but it came to mind last week when our church adopted a second focus area for prayer that is a French speaking country. I love these folks as my brothers and sisters in Christ, but it has been very difficult for me to get excited about the new focus area because of the language. If they spoke Arabic, I would not be feeling this way.

So, I think a lot of this stems back to 7th grade when people tended to decide which language they would learn. The only choices in Jr. High were Spanish and French. I know I loved Spanish before that...at my Kindergarten program I talked about Mexico. I remember studying it in 6th grade. And I think it goes to my loyalty to those of us who chose Spanish. Spanish is very beautiful, but it doesn't have the reputation of the "language of love". People think French is more chic....and I guess I'm protective of my own love--Spanish.

2--I hate Texas. Some people pray "Lord, please don't send me to Africa", but for me that has definitely been "Lord, please don't send me to Texas" I have had to wrestle with God over this and open myself up to knowing that I would even go to Texas if He asked...but that really seems to me like the worst possible option here on earth. Now, this is totally irrational. I have not really been to Texas more than flying in and out...and the brief drive into Mexico from the very southern tip of Texas. Again, I love people who live in Texas.

Perhaps my thoughts on this trace back to too many friends moving away and always seeming to end up moving to Texas. Texas steals friends from me. Maybe its the "our state is better than yours" pride that comes with Texans. I say...look at Colorado...I just don't buy that your state is better than mine.

3--I hate Apple. Not a nice crispy, juicy apple. The company. This one stems back to my Microsoft days, no question. Microsoft was such an amazing place to work, and once you were a part of it, there was this intense sense of being a part of something great. The competition in this industry is intense, and the team sessions we had talking about this competition got emotions involved. There are plenty of other companies that I learned to hate during that time, but the arrogance of Steve Jobs definitely kept them up top next to Oracle as the most irritating of companies.

So, all of these are related. They stem back to my sense of loyalty. Somehow by being loyal to one thing, the emotional response became hatred for something else. I tend to think of loyalty as all positive. Its one of my better traits, I think. But exploring this lately has helped me see how intense loyalty can take you places that aren't pretty. My first loyalty is to Christ....and place, language or job shouldn't get in the way of connecting with people in His name and for His glory.