Only Love

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. 
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King

View this link prior to reading the blog entry:  http://www.koco.com/news/oklahomanews/around-oklahoma/guthrie-woman-gets-national-attention-for-turning-tables-on-thief/22606370

One of the most difficult things to do is to offer compassion and kindness to someone who has hurt you. Yet, one of the only things that will result in a positive, constructive and mutually respectful relationship is offering compassion and kindness to someone that has hurt you.  Respect means to recognize the value of someone or something.  So many times when someone devalues us we will retaliate in a form that will punish them for their transgression or devalue them (aka put them in their place!). Dr. King notes that darkness cannot drive out darkness for only darkness will remain.  In the same way hate cannot drive out hate as only hate will remain.  In the above article the woman who’s is violated responds with compassion and kindness as an option for the transgressor.  In doing so the perpetrator chooses that option and explains his situation through a veil of tears and contrition.  Skeptics might say that he was just giving her a line of baloney.  He didn’t have kids, he wasn’t sorry, etc.  I for one don’t believe that was the case, however, the move that she made to rectify the situation in a positive manner could never have occurred had she not thought of that as an option and then offered it up.  In doing that she moved in the direction of compassion and kindness and opened the way to healing the relationship.  Will this work in this manner everytime?  Obviously not.  But just as obvious is that had it never been offered it never would have had the chance to succeed.  She was faced with darkness and chose to offer light.  She was faced with hatred and chose to offer love.  Light will devour darkness so that only light remains.  Love will devour hatred so that only love remains.  Only love.