“But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek.” “You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” Luke 6:27-29, 36
An enemy is one who entertains personal hatred, grudge, or malice against another. Enemy translated in the Hebrew is oyebh, which means “one who hates.”
One who hates is one who dislikes, detests, persecutes and has strong emotional aversion.
Do any of these describe how you feel towards another person?
Why do we have enemies? I can understand an enemy that opposes Christ, but an enemy that is a brother or sister in Christ?
Our biggest adversary –Satan walks around with a loaded gun full of temptation, greed, jealousy, insecurity, anger, and dissension. His target is US. He has no greater motive than to cause dissension and discord among believers and non-believers.
I am sure I have a few enemies throughout this life of mine, but I can guarantee you that I have never set out to make them my enemies. And to be honest yes I have had my share of disliking some people, but I have never considered them to be an enemy. So I thought. Until I read the biblical definition of an enemy.
If “enemy” means one who hates and the definition of hate is dislike or detests, than do I have people who I have made my enemy. What is the real reason to “hate” someone, especially when that someone is created in the image of God?
Is it because we have taken the armor of Christ off, acted off our feelings, therefore becoming open targets?
I understand that we will have disagreements, but that should never cause us to have or be made an enemy. We must still make the choice to love in spite of our disagreements and differences, just as Christ did when He died on the cross. Hate and love are like oil and water they don’t mix.
The biggest lesson I have learned from studying “enemies” is that if we say with our mouths that we love the Lord, yet “hate” a brother or sister in Christ than we are liars. Let me back that up with scripture. “If someone says, I love God, but hates a Christian Brother or sister, that person is a liar for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God whom we have not seen? And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters too.” 1 John 4:20-21
We can’t let the bullets of Satan wound us, we have to go straight to the healer, allow Him to remove the bullets and bandage the wounds before they begin to poison us with selfishness, jealousy, and insecurity thus causing us to harbor anger and hate towards one of God’s creations. We must put on our armor covering every inch of ourselves with Christ's love and word.
Prayer: Lord reveal to us today any hate that we may have in our hearts towards others. Forgive us Father if we have held on to this hate because of our own selfishness, jealousy and or insecurities. Lord help us to live in confident dependence upon You. May we see all people through the eyes of Your Son who displayed the ultimate expression of love on the cross. Amen
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