My enemy
Who can be considered an enemy? According to the Cambridge dictionary, an enemy is a person who hates or opposes another person and tries to harm them or stop them from doing something. You might not have someone who hates you, but you will probably have at least someone who opposes you or someone that you oppose.
So, knowing that there is a high probability of having an enemy, how should I treat my enemy? It depends on your principles. If you are a Christian, you are called to love your enemies. There are no conditions or shortcuts.
But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:44-45
How can God ask this from us? Because of our sins, we were God’s enemies. However, He decided to give us an opportunity through faith in Jesus’s sacrifice for us. Whatever the issue that I have with my enemy is, it doesn’t even come close to the issue that sin represents in our relationship with God.
If God gave his son to redeem his enemies, how much more those who have been redeemed forgive and love their enemies.
If I am to love my enemy, what about those who aren’t my enemies? Jesus asks us to love our neighbors as ourselves. In short, that means looking out for their best interests as we do for ourselves. And to be clear, his view of neighbors is not just those who live next to you (Luke 10:29-37).
So, it doesn’t matter the relationship or lack of relationship I have with someone, I am called to follow God’s example and love them all: my enemies, my neighbors, my family, and strangers. A final word of advice: you can’t do it, unless you love God first.
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