Hating the Right Person

When someone harms you, it is so hard to not let hate enter your heart. It is harder still to do what you must to protect yourself without giving over to hate. I choose to see such people as, in part, afflicted by the devil. It is the devil I direct my anger towards. I will do everything the devil does not want me to do: pray more, meditate more, love more, be happier, refuse to hate, etc. In that way I thumb my nose at the true enemy. But those the devil afflicts can be terrible in their own way, and I have to do what I must to protect myself. May God grant me the strength and courage to deal with his minions without hating them, and to act to protect myself without resorting to the power of hate. May love prevail. Amen.