“LOVE YOUR ENEMIES!”

Matthew 5:43-46                                        (ESV)

“43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

44 But I say to you, “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” and pray for those who persecute you,

45 so that you may be sons of your FATHER WHO is in heaven. For HE makes HIS sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

Making “sense” of “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” has never been something that I have had a lot of success with.  That is, until I was blessed with children who occasionally disobeyed me, or worse for them, disobeyed their mother!  Accepting that I was not agreed with was something that I was prepared for, but disobeying the very person who brought you into this world was something that I would not tolerate, in the least!  Loving my children, I HAD to discipline them to instill proper behavior, else I would have to deal with the consequences later in their lives.  Displaying LOVE for them sometimes entailed disciplining them!

When Scripture instructs us to “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES”, my thoughts go back to raising my children.  Although their behavior was not “exemplary”, it was a lot better than some.  Caving into the desires of our children was not something that we often did, as our finances were rather tight in their younger years.  We did try to give them enough to assist in their education (and a little pleasure!), but we didn’t give them everything they wanted.  

We MUST do the same for our ENEMIES.  When we “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” we have to make some tough choices from time to time.  Telling a person that has a substance abuse problem that everything will be okay, even though they refuse to make any effort to leave their addiction, is not showing very much LOVE to them!  The same with anyone, if you don’t have the wherewithal to explain why they need to change, how can you show that you “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES”???

“LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” doesn’t mean that you have to make them feel good about going against the WORD of GOD.  It might mean that you have to explain where Scripture won’t allow you to act in the way that they prefer.  The BIBLE is the WORD OF GOD, and JESUS says in the BIBLE to “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES”!  HE doesn’t say to make sure that they are comfortable on their way to eternal damnation!  “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” might involve telling them where they are headed unless GOD CHOOSES them.......like HE LOVED you!