How to love your enemies now

The thing that distresses me most about these times is the naked contempt, hatred, and ill will that some Christians display for their enemies.

This will do more to darken the witness of the Gospel and destroy the church of Christ than any “liberal agenda.”

As a Christian, it makes me sick in my soul to see how the darkness of contempt and hate is overshadowing the Gospel.

Jesus Christ said that his people are the ones who “bless those who curse” them, “pray for those who persecute” them, and “turn the other cheek” to those who strike them (Gospel of Matthew 5:38 - 48).

If this is what a Christian does, how is that so many Christians in America are publicly cursing, persecuting, and striking their enemies?

What happened?

How did we get this way?

We stopped believing in the power and promises of God and started listening to the politicians who promised us power.

The “Sermon on the Mount” is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7. Jesus meant the sermon for his followers (5:1). He starts the sermon with what we call “The Beatitudes.”

The Beatitudes takes many of the things people fear the most in life and turns them into reasons for hope.

Poverty is turned into the riches of the kingdom of heaven (5:3).

Mourning is turned into comfort (5:4).

Meekness (powerlessness) is turned into dominion (power) (5:5).

Hunger and thirst is turned into plenty (5:6).

Giving mercy (to weaken oneself before another) is turned into receiving mercy (receiving the power and strength of another) (5:7).

Purity (simplicity in the sense of “not knowing much” or “not being much of a deep thinker”) is turned into knowing God himself (5:8).

Appearing timid or weak (as peacemakers are sometimes thought to be) is turned into being called “children of God” (5:9).

Persecution (being cast out and despised) is turned into a special place in the kingdom of heaven (being honored and “on the inside”) (5:10).

Jesus ended this part of the sermon with these words for his followers:

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven… (5:11 - 12a).

What is the Word of God to his people? Put your faith and hope in the power and promises of God. The Beatitudes shine and sparkle with good news of God’s good will toward his people. Bad things may happen to us, but we can be sure that God will bring us through to the goodness he wants to give.

So it follows that if we believe in God’s good will and his power to bring about what he promises, we are free to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Specifically, we can “bless those who curse,” “pray for those who persecute,” and “turn the other cheek” to those who strike us.

This is more than just a “trust and obey” thing for Christians.

Jesus made it clear that active love for our enemies is the thing that makes us most like God:

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous (5:44 - 45).

Active love–the same kind of love that God shows by sending rain and sun on his enemies–is what makes Christians “perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect” (5:48).

If we are serious about being like God, then Jesus taught us that active love for enemies is the way to do it.

If we are serious about our witness in the world, Jesus taught us to start with active love for our enemies.

And we know we can do that if we believe in the power and promises of God to turn bad things into good things.

In practice, that means the church of Christ must move away from popular leaders who call on us to “curse, persecute, and strike” our enemies. We must not empower them on our behalf if we truly believe in the power and promises of God. The church of Christ should not entrust media figures and politicians to do what only God can (and will) do for us. We must not give them power when God is able, ready, and willing to give us his power.

As individual Christians, we must not be a part of cursing, persecuting, or striking out against our enemies on social media. We must avoid gossip, insults, and slander. Likewise, we need to correct fellow Christians who do these things. They are not following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Finally, we need to ask how we can make love for our enemies active, which is to say *pro-*active. God sends the rain and sun on his enemies before they ask him for it or do anything for him. This is the pattern that Jesus gave us for our “enemy love.” We don’t wait for our enemies to show up on our doorstep in need of help. We go looking for our enemies to do them good.

How might we do this?

Here are a few ideas (easy to hard):

1. Stop posting and sharing gossip, insults, name-calling, slander, and trolling. You are to be a people who bless, not curse.

2. Ask questions and listen to understand. Instead of attacking, ignoring, or unfriending your enemies, move toward them with humility and openness. Ask them lots of questions about themselves. My rule of thumb is that most of my interactions with “enemies” should be full of question marks with very few periods sprinkled in. I think the greatest gift we can give someone is the chance to be heard, understood, and valued. If you really think about what is happening in our country right now, I think you can agree that people are lashing out because they feel ignored, overlooked, and undervalued. There is plenty of that going around no matter what “side” you are on. Don’t add to the misery.

3. Where do your “enemies” hang out? Go there. But go there as a guest to learn and to serve. This one may be hard to swallow, but it may be one of the most powerful things you can do. For example, if you think Second Amendment people are “enemies,” go let them teach you how to handle a firearm. Take some of their classes. Volunteer at some of their training programs. I think you will be surprised at what you learn, both about the people and why they care so much. Or, if you think that environmental activists are “enemies,” find a local environmental nonprofit and sign up for one of its programs. Have the courage to get to know your “enemies” by being part of their lives and work. I promise you will find out that you have more in common than you imagine.

Our motto with our eight-year old is: You can do hard things.

You can do hard things, too. Like blessing those who curse you, praying for those who persecute you, and turning the other cheek to those who strike you. Your security and strength come from God who promises to turn bad things into good things.

If you believe this, you are on your way to being “perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

And how does Jesus define perfection?

Christian perfection is loving your enemies the way God loves them.

Go and do likewise.

Grace and peace.