Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Matthew 5:44
For some reason recently people have written in to ask that I talk about this directive from Jesus.
I said yesterday that Christ liked to upset the applecart, to go against convention, well, “love your enemies” certainly does that.
To give us some historical context up to the time of Christ there was a code that called for retribution which allowed retaliation. Even in Psalms personal hatred for enemies is openly expressed. (Psalms 109.)
Now for those who love to split hairs, the greek word for love was carefully chosen. One can argue that we are not required to love our enemies with a natural affection (philein) but with the Christian love that comes by grace (agapan). That doesn’t get it for me, but I am happy for those who understand the distinction.
I’m more comfortable with an analysis that first asks “who is my enemy?” and whether it’s his or her words, actions, or ideas that are what I can’t handle, as opposed to the person. I also remind myself to be careful not to let anyone else define who my enemies are. We have plenty of that these days with people who claim to know, telling us we should hate — a group, a type of individual, or a religion. They classify people first and then throw them in a huge pot and then tell us they are my enemies, and if I don’t agree with them then I’m the enemy as well. I sometimes ask where does all this hate come from but that’s for another day.
Loving one’s enemies tests our instincts, the way we were raised, and the cultural norms. That’s why I think Jesus made such a point of it. He tells us to set aside conventional wisdom and lead with our heart.
Easier said than done you might say and you’d be right, but all things are possible. God leads by example, now its our turn.
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