I am a little hesitant to include this one because this statement is often used by abusers to DARVO their victims and community. There is common grace, and because of this, there is common ground. God causes the rain and the sun to shine on both believers and unbelievers. That’s part of what you see in Matthew 5. One of the ways to love our enemy is to find common ground. This little exercise, though, shows that we often have much in common.
And sometimes you have even dissimilar definitions of those desires. The difference is that you have opposing strategies for acquiring those. At the end of the day, your “enemy” on the other side has the same basic desires that you have. Do they desire happiness? Do they want to see their family healthy, happy, and secure? Do they want to make friends, have good relationships, live in peace, and have hope for a brighter future? If you’re into politics, think of your political “enemy” for a moment. Being people of truth by portraying our opponent in the best light possible may actually be the means God uses to expose the darker side of things (and this, too, would be for their greater good). In such cases, it can feel as if we’re defending evil by casting them in the best light possible.īut in reality, we want to see the truth stand. We love our enemies by doing this - and it’s hard to do this. I think of this when engaging in online discussions.Īm I representing them in a way in which they might be proud to own? If I tell others of their position, would they be willing to say, “Yes, that is exactly my position?” Am I finding the best arguments for their position or for their cause? One way to truly love our opponents is to represent them accurately. It’s humorous because we know our own temptation to present our “enemy” in the worst light possible and to then present ourselves as charming and innocent as a dove. In each instance, the one telling the story is the hero, and the other is a scoundrel. In one particular episode, both Rob (Dick Van Dyke) and Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) tell their friend about a fight they had last night. One of my favorite television shows is the classic The Dick Van Dyke Show. Be Genuinely Respectful and Represent Them Accurately Instead, we see Jesus modeling this for us when he prays that God would forgive those who are crucifying Him.Ģ. When he says this, he doesn’t mean to pray for their destruction or find your favorite imprecatory prayer to recite. Jesus explicitly tells us to pray for those who persecute us. This might not seem like a “real world” way to love your enemy, but this is the first step to truly loving those we might deem an enemy. Here are seven ways we can love our enemies. Or is Jesus calling us to something different here? What are real-world ways that we can love our enemies? “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”ĭo we go the cynical way of praying for those who persecute us by turning to imprecatory prayers? Can we simply say that we “love our enemies,” “bless their hearts,” and then move on? I’m not sure if that’s exactly what Jesus had in mind when he talked about praying for our enemies and blessing those who persecute us.
May those that love us, love us, and for those that don't love us, may God turn their hearts, and if he can't turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles so we know them by their limping.
There is a funny old Irish curse that goes like this:
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