The Commands of Christ, Part Ten

Jesus’ instructions on how to handle personal relationships is often hard for us to accept. Matthew Chapter 5 is hard on a lot of us for that reason. While I want to say, “at the time…” the fact is, the times haven’t changed much. When Jesus was physically present in the world, it was nature for folks to see themselves as blameless while wanting to see what they thought of as justice enacted on those for whom they held scorn. As we look at the scripture for this command, it feels reminiscent of just a few commands ago when Jesus was calling out the “eye for an eye” mentality. Jesus was big on holding ourselves accountable while forgiving others. It’s a mindset that is hard to wrap our heads around, but it’s also a mindset that is reinforced time and again. For command ten, it’s reinforced by Matthew 5: 43-47 (NASB20).

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that yo may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?

While I’ve never heard anyone try to use this verse as an excuse not to love their neighbor, it’s worth quickly pointing out that Jesus is clearly stating to love your enemies in addition to your neighbor, not in place of your neighbor.

So, love your enemies…but why? Personally, I don’t have anyone in my life I view as an enemy. There are people in my life I disagree with, but they aren’t my enemy. There are people in my life that I have cut contact with after things they’ve said, but they also are not my enemy. To really get a feel for why it’s so important to love your enemies you need to understand two things: 1) What is an enemy and 2) What hate does to a heart

The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives 3 definitions for the word enemy:

One that is antagonistic to another. Especially one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent
Something harmful or deadly
A military adversary or a hostile unit or force

Here’s the subtext that’s easy to overlook. If you have an enemy, you also ARE an enemy. You may feel justified in being one, but that doesn’t change that you are one. As followers of Christ, our only enemies are to be sin, our flesh, and the deceiver. When you make it a point to make sure your enemy KNOWS they are your enemy through your actions, it’s very easy for making them feel the error of their ways to become more important to us than winning them over into the family of Christ.

When you are an enemy of someone, you are antagonistic toward them. You are harmful toward them. Often times, you are also hostile toward them. These are not characteristics of Christ and not attitudes we are called to emulate.

By loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us, we change the story. Instead of being antagonistic toward them, we lift them up. We show them that while we may disagree with their lifestyle or a life choice, we want to see good things happen to them. It’s very difficult to consider someone an enemy who is wanting good things for you. When we love them, we aren’t being harmful to them, we are being helpful. It’s really hard to tune out people who genuinely want to help you. When we love our enemies we’re no longer hostile toward them. We become a positive force in their lives.

It is nearly impossible to hate someone who constantly shows you love. As followers of Christ, showing love is what we’re meant to do. You cannot simultaneously show Christ’s love while holding onto hate.

Think of love and hate less as opposites and more like opposing ends of a spectrum. Love and hate are both strong emotional attachments that require us to remind ourselves why we feel them. Both are powerful and we tend to act in accordance with the one we spend most of our time focused on. We also tend to find it easier to do things we practice. If you focus on all the reasons you can find to hate someone, you’re going to see those reasons easier in the rest of the world. If you focus on all the reasons you can find to love someone, you’re going to see more of those as well.

Whether you are focused on love or on hate is going to affect the condition of your heart.

Loving our enemies, however, isn’t enough because Jesus also tells us to pray for those who persecute us. He’s not talking about praying along the lines of, “Jesus, please help this person who is persecuting to realize the error of their ways and leave me alone.” That’s not a prayer that would typically be made out of love. He’s asking us to pray for them the same way we would pray for someone we love. “Lord, I don’t know what this person is struggling with. I don’t know what is driving them toward persecution, but I pray that you help them find peace. I pray that you bless their life in a way that they come to know you and to see the wonderful savior you are.”

It’s hard, you don’t want to pray that prayer for someone who claims to be your enemy. But you’re supposed to. Jesus doesn’t ask a lot of easy things from us. Christianity isn’t meant to be comfortable. It’s a process of sanctification that draws us closer to God as we strive to adjust our lives to be part of doing His will.

Now, you may have someone in your life who claims you are their enemy. Maybe you did something wrong, maybe they just decided you were their nemesis in true supervillain fashion. If you can’t reconcile with them in accordance to command 5, love them anyway. It’s not going to be easy. You won’t diffuse every bad relationship. But by loving them even though they profess to be your enemy, by praying for them even while they speak ill of you, you fulfill a charge given to us by our savior.

You can’t control their actions, so instead, control yours.