LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

 

Monday, April 17, 2023

 

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

 

Matt 5:43-44

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, 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; KJV

 

Luke 6:26-28

26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. KJV

 

          So, you have been hurt and you are seething and plotting retribution. Well, welcome to the human condition. Satan, Eve, and Adam insured that relationships would be troublesome because man fell out of love with God and began to love himself. I’m sorry, but that includes you as well.

 

          Both Matthew and Luke record these words which are part of the Sermon on the Mount. Luke adds a woe and a warning that thinking you can please everyone is futile and foolish. You cannot choose who loves you. But you can choose how you respond to those who do not. If it were impossible, God would not have told you to do it.

 

          A few years ago, and maybe more than a few, a song was used by Coca-Cola that was sung by a diverse group. You might remember it. It began, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. I’d like to buy the world a Coke and.” Well, you get the idea, and even as you watched it and gulped your Coke you knew that it was unlikely. The world has yet joined hands to sing.

 

          Petulance, the quality of being childishly sulky or bad-tempered, is a signal to those who have hurt you that things are not right. Petulance is unsustainable. Even a child eventually gives up and returns to play. Oh, and petulance has yet to change the person who has rubbed your fur the wrong way. You won’t change your “enemy,” but you CAN change you.

 

Ps 133

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

 

Ah, Lord God, doubtless there are those who consider me to be hurtful and disagreeable. Let me be a friend or at least friendly, even to them. AMEN