To try to make themselves look and feel important, insecure people will sometimes vilify other people. A needy ego tends to vilify anyone or anything that it sees as a hinderance.

A mature leader takes responsibility. An immature one engages in “blamestorming”–accusing and vilifying other people. It’s best not to glorify someone who vilifies others, because if you do, some of his hatred will stick in your heart. After all, there’s nothing “great” about berating and denigrating people.

You can’t change people by vilifying them, but you can by touching their heart with kindness, humility, and love. However, When demeaning attitudes are bolstered in society, something will eventually burst. Be careful. Confidence can easily expand into arrogance and before we know it, we’re looking down on others.

Here’s an example of how vilification was used in American history: Attempting to justify slavery and Jim Crow, blacks were vilified for centuries. That demeaning propaganda hasn’t been fully overcome.

If we vilify people who disagree with us, we lay aside Christian love and will soon be dominated by hostility and self-righteousness. Anybody can vilify people, but it takes courage and faith to love and be kind to people who disagree with you. The Bible tells me to, “Consider others better than yourself,” not to demean any other individual or group.

To say that people who disagree with you are evil, is to overlook the evil in your own heart and mind. If we lose sight of the evil in our own heart, we can falsely assume we are better than others. (However, the Bible says: “All we like sheep have gone astray.” God’s forgiveness will refurbish and renew your broken life, if you ask for and humbly receive it.)

Instead of demeaning people, Christians are called to be friends in “low places” and to demonstrate Jesus’ spiritual “oasis.” However, before we can be fully aware of the living Jesus, we have to look beyond our own feelings, desires, and opinions.