Episodes of Living: DREAM HATERS

Are you a dreamer? What have you experienced since you became conscious about the dream on your heart? I am sure it hasn’t been all smooth and rosy. Every dreamer faces haters. Dream haters are people and systems that work to frustrate the realization of a worthwhile dream, idea or vision. The size of your dream determines the size of your detours. One clearest case of a man who faced perpetual haters from cradle to grave was Jesus Christ.This article uses His early life to draw lessons about dream haters; what they exhibit and how to deal with them. (Reference: Matthew 2).

How Dream Haters Manifest

They Feel Troubling (Matt. 2:3): Not everyone celebrate the birth of a dream.King Herod and the people were troubled by the dream called the king of the Jews and savior of the world. Only insecure leaders become troubled by the dreams of others.They infest their followers with this attitude. They hate competition. Comparison brings this attitude. They think similar dreams call for competitions. Can you stand the promotion of others? Are you competing unnecessarily with others? If yes, then you are habouring the spirit of hate. A preacher man once said that if you hear God has blessed your neighbour, it means you are next in line. A state of trouble is a sign of hate.

They Act Pretending (Matt. 2:7,8): Dream haters manifest in pretentious actions. King Herod pretended to be a worshiper of the dream. To worshipsomething means “to revere” or“to hold in high esteem”. Pretenders work in subtle ways as if they are in favour of the dream.Their pretenses are aimed at getting the dreamer by working through people closed to the dream.He wanted to use the wise men.But they were wise to act. It is crucial to welcome wise people to your dream who will not fall in the hands of haters in order to come at you.

They Seek Destroying And Killing (Matt. 2:13,16): Dream haters agenda is to destroy and kill the dreamer. Once they kill the dreamer, the dream and its impacts on humanity would die. Imagine Jesus had been killed.The salvation of the world would have been at stake. Joseph’s brothers wanted to kill him in order to kill the dream (Gen. 37:20). They knew a principle about dreams: You cannot kill the dream without killing the dreamer. Protect yourself from killers.

Dealing With Dream Haters

Stay Silent (Matt. 2:11): Jesus’ parents never broadcasted His birth. Rather they kept silent at the sheep’s pen. No one knew about it except the wise men. One major attraction of dream haters is what psychologists call “uncontrollable loquacity”. It means inability to keep your mouth shut about your dream. The hate Joseph suffered with his brothers is unavoidable if you don’t keep your mouth shut (Gen. 37:5). Learn from the parents of Jesus who kept silent when the dream was young.

Stay Hidden(Matt. 2:11): The biggest lesson for dreamers: Stay hidden from haters until they go into extinction. Don’t expose yourself before your time. Hide from enemies. Move outside their shadow. Grow and mature in the secret before you manifest in the public. Staying hidden guarantees safety from haters.

Stay Connected (Matt. 2:13): The father of Jesus never acted until He heard from God. He acted in obedience to the voice of God and not men. Sometimes we act on our own or on the advice of others and end in failure. What you trust is what you act upon. If you received your dream from God, you must trust His instructions. Stay connected and God will supply you the strategic plan of action. You can benefit from His strategies if you are a kingdomperson. Get connected, stay connected and benefit from God.

Dream haters abound everywhere. How you deal with them is what is vital. We have all at points in life been careless about who we share our dreams with. In as much as we cannot avoid them totally, we must look for wise ways to quench their missile attacks.

© 2012 Eric Otchere
Email: eric.otchere@ymail.com
(The author is an infopreneur passionate about
building individual and corporate capacities
through knowledge-based products.)