Love Your Enemies

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44). This is a teaching that is often ignored. People don’t love their enemies, they turn against them and end up hating them. Enemies are seen as people who are out to get you, and the general consensus is that you want to get them first. This view goes directly against Jesus’ teachings. If you love your enemies there is always the chance to figure out a way to work out the animosity between you, but if you hate and try to destroy them there is no chance that you will ever be on amicable terms. The root problem will never be discovered and you will continue to feud until you finally part ways, and perhaps even after that occurs. It is better to love your enemies in the hope that one day some kind of truce will be reached than continue the feud. The same thing goes for those who persecute you. It is better to pray for them in hopes that their attitude will change or some kind of truce can be reached than persecute them back. It’s possible that you inadvertently did something to offend them and that is why they persecute you, but you will never be able to find out if you retaliate the same way they did. That is why this teaching is so important. If you love your enemies and pray for your persecutors you are becoming closer to them, trying to understand their views and possibly reconciling the differences between you. Sadly, most people ignore this and go instead for revenge, causing a never ending cycle of hate and persecution.