Love Your Enemy

“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.”

Matthew 5:43-44 (NIV)

At present, I have no enemies that I know of. I cannot think of a time when I was the victim of any prejudice. As a white, heterosexual male, who had all the advantageous that come with growing up in an upper middle-class home, I can think of no one who has ever repressed me or harmed me without cause.

There were times in my youth that I created enemies, meaning that through an interplay of my actions and theirs they became my enemies, though I was generally as much at fault as they were. When I went through a divorce twenty years ago, I went through periods of strong resentment toward others and, at times, toward myself. Though these negative feelings isolated me from others and from God for a time, it has been years since I forgave everyone involved in my heart, and those feelings are far removed from me.

A couple of years ago, someone whom I had worked with at a former job harassed several of us through “spoofing” and this caused me some unease, particularly when ten-year old Nicole saw a raunchy message, which caused me to change my phone number. However, I understand that this person was likely acting out of their own pain and powerlessness, so I feel no resentment to whoever did it and I hope that he or she has found peace of mind.

Though I understand that Jesus speaks to all of us today with these words, those in positions of power and those who are not, I recognize that the original context of these words was to the Jews, who were under Roman rule. As such, Jesus’ original message was to repressed people.

Spiritual blindness

To put this story into more context for those of us in American in the modern era, I have turned to the writings of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Having grown up in the South, Dr. King understood the repression the black community had experienced from over two hundred years of slavery followed by decades of segregation and other indignities. When Dr. King had the opportunity to assume the pastorate of a church in the North, where he would not experience the same amount of discrimination or to return to a church in the South, he and his wife, Coretta, chose to return to the South to be a part of the movement that they saw was coming.

When the black community in Montgomery, AL, chose to mobilize through a bus boycott in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks for not yielding her seat to a white man, Dr. King was elected as the President of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization that was arranging the boycotts. As such, the bulk of the anger of the boycotts fell on Dr. King’s shoulders. Unable to stop the boycott, the authorities arrested Dr. King and others and someone bombed Dr. King’s house. The mood of much of the black community following the bombing was tense and many, even those who had supported the campaign of nonviolence, were ready to fight. However, through his faith in Christ and His teachings on nonviolence, Dr. King was able to rise above the indignation and convince the people to continue to resist segregation through nonviolent means.

Though Dr. King could have hated white people, as I am sure that many did in the South during his time, Dr. King chose to emulate and preach love. Dr. King understood that many of those who participated in oppression did it, not because they were evil, but because they were blind to the experience of others. He entreated the oppressed to look at their oppressors and say, as Jesus did, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” He laid out three principles to assist us in loving our enemies.

First, we must develop and maintain the power to forgive. If we are unable to forgive our enemies, then we are incapable of loving them. Through our prayer, thoughts, and action, we must always seek reconciliation.

Second, we must change our attitude towards those who hurt us. When someone acts in a way that is selfish and/or repressive, their actions show only a subset of the person. As Dr. King expounds, “There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

Third, Dr. King proposed reconciliation. When confronted with the opportunity to humiliate our enemy, we should not respond to the opportunity, so that, in time, we may gain their friendship. In his words, “Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill which have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hate.”

Dr. King further expounds upon the teachings of Jesus and reminds us that we do not hurt our enemies when we do not love them. Rather, we create a barrier between ourselves and God. Conversely, when we are able, through God’s grace, to overcome the wrongs that have been done to us and love our enemies despite their attitude towards us, we enter into a unique relationship with God and experience His holiness.

Applications

How can I implement these teachings into my life? I can seek to understand the experiences of those around me and in other areas of the world and how they may be impacted by my actions or inactions. In what ways do I contribute to injustice, either directly or indirectly? Do I lead my life in a way that heals or hurts?

Second, I should always seek to forgive and love in my personal life. As working parents and partners, it is easy to become offended at each other for something our partner did or didn’t do. Do I model forgiveness to my children and my partner?

Third, I show forgiveness and understanding in my work life. If not today, there have been times in my past that I have seen someone as a “rival” at work. They could be a rival for a future position or they because the actions they think that the organization should take are different than mine. I could be jealous because they make more money than I make or because I perceive that they receive more favor from leadership than I receive. Regardless of my pride or other self-interests, I am to seek reconciliation with this person in my heart and in my actions. If the opportunity arises to point out a mistake they made or to show myself in a better light than them to weaken their position, I am called to resist this temptation. If they do something that embarrasses me, I am called not to respond. I may still discuss the matter with them in private, but I must do so in a way that seeks to reconcile our relationship. In doing so, I may win them over in a way that I could never do if I seek to harm them. Such behavior also encourages others to emulate reconciliation versus competitiveness.

More important than any of these other relationships is my relationship with God. When I seek reconciliation, rather than conflict with others, it brings me more in line with the behaviors that Jesus Christ exhibited. As such, it brings me closer to God and He is a much greater treasure than anything the world could ever offer.