It’s easy to find on the internet references to the negative effects of hate and the positive effects of forgiveness. What’s not so easy is to keep ourselves from hate or find a way to forgive. That’s where prayer and the prayerful study of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, are so helpful and healing.

Years ago, I had an instructive experience with hate and forgiveness. I was a young officer in the United States Navy aboard an aircraft carrier with my squadron. The days at sea between exercises became tedious, and the quality of my work suffered. At one point, my superior officer noted this and decided to discipline me in front of other officers in our ready room. I stood at attention, took my dressing down, saluted, said “Aye, aye, sir,” and left the room feeling humiliated.

I went to my cabin, where I proceeded to nurture a self-justified anger, even hatred, toward this officer for publicly humiliating me. It felt so good to hate this man. This went on for a day or two before I came down with a heavy cold that kept me in my cabin away from others. That did not feel so good.