Q11: Why we should love our Enemies

Question

Why should we love our Enemies?

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven...

—Matthew 5:34-45a

Context

Jesus' words of loving one's enemies are part of His long discourse in Matthew 5—7. These are theological elaborations and practical reflections on the Word of God by Jesus, some of which in the light of the interpretations of other religious groups at the time. The people had 'heard,' yet now Jesus, the Son of God, was speaking to them: 'I say to you.' They realised that He spoke as one having authority, unlike the other teachers and scholars (Matthew 7:28-29). Rabbinic teaching would discuss what others had said about Torah. Jesus agreed with some and disagreed with others. He spoke in His own authority, given by God. He spoke with the authority of His own interpretation and was not shy to point out where others had deviated from the Word of God. According to Jesus, we are not only to love our neighbours (as the Torah commanded), but also our enemies. He set forth a new approach of dealing with those who cause us harm.

Answer

Jesus first quotes the Torah ('You shall love your neighbor' [Leviticus 19:18b]) and adds an interpretation by some of the religious groups at the time ('hate your enemy'). There is no commandment in the Torah to hate one's enemy; but neither is there one to love them. There is, however, a law to return a straying animal belonging to an enemy (Exodus 23:4), and lend a helping hand to one who hates you in a situation of need (v 5). The wisdom of Solomon instructs us not to rejoice when our enemy falls, nor be glad when he or she stumbles (Proverbs 24:17). This comes with a warning that God would see it and be 'displeased' with such a cynical attitude (v 18). In other words, God is not happy with vengeful rejoicing or mocking over bad things happening to those who mistreat us. We are instructed to feed a hungry enemy, which will bring a reward from God (Proverbs 25:21-22). This verse is quoted by Paul in Romans (see below).

David, in his prayers to God for vindication and cries for justice, trusted to see his desire on his enemies after God's intervention (Psalm 54:7b; 59:10b). In fact, Psalm 59 is a prayer to God for deliverance from enemies (v 1), not a prayer of vengeance. David even humbled himself and prayed and fasted for malicious witnesses and evildoers who rose up against him and repaid him 'evil for good' (Psalm 35:11-14), those who rejoiced at his stumbling (v 15). He turned to God not to allow those who were wrongfully his enemies and hated him without cause to triumph over him (vv 19, 25). When David had a chance to take his revenge on a jealous king to who mistreated and persecuted him, he would not (1 Samuel 24; 26). Nor would he raise his hand against his rebellious son who sought to overthrow his throne (2 Samuel 16:15—18:18). David mourned their deaths; he didn't rejoice. He had the moral high-ground by not becoming like his enemies but seeking to please God by honourable conduct.

The commandment to love others was of paramount importance to Jesus: it was one of the two most important commandments (Matthew 22:34-40; cf., Romans 13:8-10; see Q10), in the same way as doing good to others was the summary of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12). Rather than loving only one's neighbour, Jesus advocates a love that extends to enemies. He thus (indirectly) negates the tradition to 'hate your enemy' and shows a better way to handle those who causes us harm by persecution: to love them and pray for them. Luke's version is slightly longer than what Matthew recorded:

But I say to you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you... but love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

—Luke 6:27-28, 35-36 NKJV

Jesus' disciples are not to hate; they are to love. They are to pray for those who persecute them and spitefully use them, they are to do good to those who do evil, and they are to bless those who curse them. The response to hatred is love; to persecution, prayer; to evil, good; and to cursing, blessing—Jesus showed the way of peace. It is a different response to what we would expect. Revenge, anger and hatred is the natural, human reaction to pain and persecution; Jesus admonishes His followers not to react but to respond. Reacting with hatred to hatred, increases evil. Cursing others as a reaction to their curses, increases evil. The reality of evil is a given; how we respond to it is a choice. Jesus' disciples are to be sons of God, Father (Matthew 5:45) and Most High (Luke 6:35), to be perfect/complete/mature (Matthew 5:48) and merciful (Luke 6:36) like Him. He is good even to the ungrateful and evil. He does not approve of sinful action, yet seeks to give people a chance to discover that there is a better way to handle evil than to multiply it with like action. There is a better way than to revenge and becoming like the people who cause us harm. There is a better way—the way of love, the greatest commandment (Q10).

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says "Love your enemies," he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition.*

—Martin Luther King Jr.

The reward for choosing God's way of love is both in heaven in the afterlife as well as on earth in becoming sons of God who reflect Him in character and behaviour: maturity, goodness and kindness. Loving those who love you is nothing special. Anyone can do it, even sinful and non-religious people (Matthew 5:46-47; Luke 6:32-34). God has a higher standard for His people. Someone must show that way and demonstrate it to the world. Deeds of goodness is the only way to show a higher quality of values in one's life, especially in the face of suffering and injustice. Doing what everyone else does, even with selfish motives, is nothing special. loving with self-interest is not true love; it's selfishness with a smile. Going the extra mile, turning the other cheek and responding with goodness to evil is divine. Remember, returning good with good is human; returning evil for good is demonic; returning good for evil is divine. True love is expressed in patience, forgiveness and selflessness (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). True love sets an alternative way to respond to the suffering and evil in this world.

_________

*Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love. Kindle Edition, 47 [emphasis added]

Upheaval after upheaval has reminded us that modern man is traveling along a road called hate, in a journey that will bring us to destruction and damnation. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, the command to love one's enemies is an absolute necessity for our survival. Love even for enemies is the key to the solution of the problems of our world. Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.*

—Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr., the great Civil Rights leader of the 1950s and 1960s, knew that the command to love one's enemies wasn't easy. Some thought it's impossible; Nietzsche considered it testimony that the Christian ethic is for the weak and cowardly. However, King proved him wrong: he demonstrated in the modern era how loving enemies is for the brave and courageous, and that it can change a world of racism, discrimination and hatred. King confronted the injustice of his time with the strength of love. For him, the 'capacity to forgive' was fundamental to love one's enemies: 'He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power of love' (Strength to Love, 44). For King, evil deeds don't express all the evildoer is; we are to look for an 'element of goodness' in him or her, since 'there is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us' (45). Defeating our enemies shouldn't be the objective; rather winning his (or her) friendship and understanding. Hence, 'we love ever man [person] because God loves him [or her]. At this level, we love the person who does an evil deed, although we hate the deed that he [or she] does' (45).

Further, 'hate scars the soul and distorts the personality... Hate destroyes a man's sense of values... it causes him [or her] to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true' (47). Hatred is a cancer in a human's soul, while 'love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend... we get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity... Love transforms with redemptive power' (48). King applied the power of redemptive love to the racism problem he faced: 'oppressed men [need to] develp the capacity to love their enemies' if there is to be a 'permanent solution.' He saw the only way to dispell the 'darkness of racial injustice' by 'the light of forgiving love' (49). In view of three centuries of the oppression, injustice and discrimination or slavery, African Americans were 'tempted to become bitter and to retaliate with corresponding hate,' yet King advocated that they are to 'meet hate with love' through 'strength and humility' (49).

No man ever conquered his enemy's heart by revenge; many by love.**

—Charles Bridges

King was right when he wrote: 'Love is the most durable power in the world. This creative force, so beautifully exemplified in the life of our Christ, is the most potent instrument available in mankind's quest for peace and security' (51). Indeed, '...we shall never be true sons of our heavenly Father until we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us' (52). For King, love was the only way; hatred was too great of a burden to bear—he chose love. Martin Luther King and everyone involved in the non-violent Civil Rights movement demonstrated how the power of love can triumph over hatred, just as light expells darkness. They prayed; they loved; they forgave—and they changed America and the world for good. They are witness to Paul's statement to 'overcome evil with good.'

_________

*Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love. Kindle Edition, 43 [emphasis added]

** Charles Bridges, Proverbs, 477.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

—Romans 12:21

Evil is a reality; how we handle it is a choice. Paul advocated for the way of peace: to bless those who persecute us; and not to curse (Romans 12:14). To rejoice in hope, endure sufferings and trials patiently, and to keep praying (v 12). We are not to retaliate (v 17) or take our own revenge (v 19). Instead, we are to live at peace with others, as much as it depends on us (v 18), and give room to the justice of God (v 19). Paul followed the ancient Hebrew wisdom to feed a hungry enemy and give him or her a drink when thirsty (v 20; see Proverbs 25:21-22). He knew that 'the LORD will reward you' (Proverbs 25:22b). The 'hot coals' speak metaphorically of the shame or guilt one feels when being treated well after causing harm. It gives an opportunity to the wrong-doer to reconsider and amend his or her ways. Goodness in the face of evil gives the wrong-doer the chance to change, while we retain a merciful attitude. We remain on the moral high-ground by not polluting our soul with resentfulness and anger; we choose to forgive and keep our peace.

But we also trust in ultimate justice from God. Not all people will respond with goodness to our goodness, but we nonetheless have to show it. Taking vengeful action in resentment will further corrupt a bitter soul. Love is the way for restoring a broken relationship and healing a hurting soul. Doing good when facing evil is the only way to overcome it without becoming like the evil person persecuting or hurting us. Taking revenge in bitterness won't bring peace to the conflict, nor healing to our soul. It will only make a bad situation worse.

Peter pointed to Jesus' example during His suffering in crucifixion and how He entrusted Himself to Him (God) who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:21-23). We are not to return evil for evil, insult for insult; we are to bless instead, trusting God to reward those who do the right thing (3:9). Suffering is part of life; how we handle it is our choice! We are to continue in what is right before God, no matter how people may slander us (vv 14ff). It doesn't matter what others do wrong; what matters is that we do what is right. We are called to live as sons of God and adhere to His laws and principles. There is a way to live pleasing to God for Him to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7).

Christ prayed for those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34). And so did Stephanus before he was stoned (Acts 7:60). Without a commitment to love and forgiveness in the face of evil and suffering, we might be overcome by evil. Overcoming evil by the goodness of loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us and blessing those who curse us, we preserve our souls from resentment and bitterness, give our enemies a chance to change for the better, and open the way to God's judgment for Him to act as He sees fit in His infinte wisdom and unfailing justice. Thus we shall attain the moral high-ground of being true sons of God and peacemakers in a world of corruption, evil and injustice.

Conclusion

We should love our enemies in order to become sons of God, and in doing so demonstrate the courage to love in the face of hatred as an expression of divine love and the only way to bring light into the darkness of our sinful world. By loving enemies and refusing to choose the way of revenge, we overcome evil by doing good, give room to God's justice, and avoid becoming like our enemies. We won't destroy our own soul by bitterness and hatred, but keep it pure by love and forgiveness. Thus we contribute goodness to the world around us and not add more evil in a world already burdened by suffering caused by evil.