love our enemies
LET US LOVE EVEN OUR ENEMIES
It is a fact that some people will not like you, not because of something you have done to them, but they just will not like you. Some people will not like the way you walk, others will not like the way you talk. Some people may never like you because you can do your job better than they can do theirs. Some people will simply not like you because you are popular, and because you are well-liked, they will not like you.
Some people will not like you because your hair is a little shorter than theirs or your hair is a little longer than theirs. Some people will not like you because your skin is a little brighter than theirs; and others will not like you because your skin is a little darker than theirs. They are going to dislike you, not because of something that you have done to them, but because of various jealous reactions and other reactions that are so prevalent in human nature.
But we must admit we are not infallible and that we may cause others to hate what we do, say or imitate. Within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. The person who hates you most has some good in him. When you come to the point that you look in the face of every man and see deep down within him what religion calls "the image of God," you begin to love that who hates you or dislikes you.
Jesus teaches us to ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do well to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven’. Certainly these are great words. Many persons have argued that this is an extremely difficult command. Jesus was very serious when he gave this command; he was not joking. He realized that it’s hard to love your enemies. He realized that it is difficult to love those persons who seek to defeat you, those persons who say evil things about you. He realized that it was painfully hard, pressingly hard. But he was serious.
Why are told to ‘Love your enemy.’ Why not ‘Like your enemy.’ Like is very sentimental but Love is greater than like. Love understands. It is a redemptive goodwill for all men. Do not hate another as a matter of vengeance for hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back, this can go on ad infinitum. It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that is the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil.
Hate distorts the personality of the hater. It is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You cannot see straight when you hate. You cannot walk straight when you hate. You cannot stand upright. Your vision is distorted. The beautiful becomes ugly and the ugly becomes beautiful. The good becomes bad and the bad becomes good. The true becomes false and the false becomes true. This is what hate does. The symbol of objectivity is lost.
If you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people even though they are mistreating you. And when you do so, they will not stand it too long. They will react with bitterness because they are mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. At least my grandma taught me this. In fact she would tell me the hyena can only enter the compound using the hole created by the family dog. To her, hate is that family dog!!
It is a fact that some people will not like you, not because of something you have done to them, but they just will not like you. Some people will not like the way you walk, others will not like the way you talk. Some people may never like you because you can do your job better than they can do theirs. Some people will simply not like you because you are popular, and because you are well-liked, they will not like you.
Some people will not like you because your hair is a little shorter than theirs or your hair is a little longer than theirs. Some people will not like you because your skin is a little brighter than theirs; and others will not like you because your skin is a little darker than theirs. They are going to dislike you, not because of something that you have done to them, but because of various jealous reactions and other reactions that are so prevalent in human nature.
But we must admit we are not infallible and that we may cause others to hate what we do, say or imitate. Within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. The person who hates you most has some good in him. When you come to the point that you look in the face of every man and see deep down within him what religion calls "the image of God," you begin to love that who hates you or dislikes you.
Jesus teaches us to ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do well to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven’. Certainly these are great words. Many persons have argued that this is an extremely difficult command. Jesus was very serious when he gave this command; he was not joking. He realized that it’s hard to love your enemies. He realized that it is difficult to love those persons who seek to defeat you, those persons who say evil things about you. He realized that it was painfully hard, pressingly hard. But he was serious.
Why are told to ‘Love your enemy.’ Why not ‘Like your enemy.’ Like is very sentimental but Love is greater than like. Love understands. It is a redemptive goodwill for all men. Do not hate another as a matter of vengeance for hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil. If I hit you and you hit me and I hit you back, this can go on ad infinitum. It just never ends. Somewhere somebody must have a little sense, and that is the strong person. The strong person is the person who can cut off the chain of hate, the chain of evil.
Hate distorts the personality of the hater. It is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You cannot see straight when you hate. You cannot walk straight when you hate. You cannot stand upright. Your vision is distorted. The beautiful becomes ugly and the ugly becomes beautiful. The good becomes bad and the bad becomes good. The true becomes false and the false becomes true. This is what hate does. The symbol of objectivity is lost.
If you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people even though they are mistreating you. And when you do so, they will not stand it too long. They will react with bitterness because they are mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. At least my grandma taught me this. In fact she would tell me the hyena can only enter the compound using the hole created by the family dog. To her, hate is that family dog!!
