Romans 12:14-21—Bless those who persecute you; bless and do
not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live
in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;
do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but
take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far
as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge
yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance
is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed
them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you
will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good.
After my post on Wednesday, I received this question: “[B]ut
how, when one lives in fear, is it possible to forgive? . . . I believe [in
Jesus], but I have a survival instinct as well. What do I do?” I imagine this
is a common question for most Christians because loving and forgiving our
enemies goes against our human survival instinct. To be sure, even the early Christians and
disciples had this very same question, which is why we see Jesus address it on
more than one occasion. Fortunately, we
know that love is not about a feeling, but rather it is about action. In
Romans, we are instructed to meet the needs of our enemies—if they are hungry,
feed them, if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. When we show kindness and care for our
enemies despite their actions and attitudes against us, we overcome evil with
good. Honestly, it is really easy to be
mean to a person who is being mean to you, but it is nearly impossible to be
mean to a person who is nice to you. But
evil, hate, and negative attitudes grow in the face of evil, hate, and negative
attitudes. Positive energy, peace, and
loving actions counteract evil and can really change the world. We can’t always understand why our enemies
act the way they do, but I do know this—most people act out of self-interest
and in a way that promotes their own needs, wants, and desires. It is when those needs, wants, and desires
run contrary to our own that we begin to perceive these people as our enemies. Just as we would want our enemies to begin to
see matters from our perspective, we must also seek to understand matters from
our enemies’ perspective. When we show
kindness and act lovingly toward our enemies, it opens a window within our
hearts to begin to see the humanity in the other person. Scripture is clear that we ought to bless,
not curse, our enemies. We empathize with others by celebrating and grieving
with them. We must never seek revenge,
and we must live peaceably with all.
Basically, this means that we must continually strive to overcome our
own feelings so that we empathize with our fellow man. As Christians we are called to be more than
just slaves to our feelings and emotions.
We can acknowledge how we are feeling and still choose to be kind and
show love to one another.
Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for
loving you enough to send His Son. Pray
for an ever-growing understanding of the nature of Jesus so that you might
daily live more like him. Ask God to
guide you in ways that you might bless your enemies and show love in a way that
breaks down barriers and overcomes evil in this world. Intentionally pray for your enemies and set a
goal to show love to others, especially to those who are not kind to you.
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