Do we love our enemies?

When you hear the word “Enemy” what do you think about?  

When we hear the word enemy we might think about a person who has lied to you or about you. We think about someone who has hurt us or hurt a family member.  We think about people who oppose our values or our opinions.  

But, have you ever thought about the people we ignore as being an enemy?  Surely not!

The Bible says in Matthew 5, that religious leaders had said that it was okay to hate your enemies.  Jesus corrects that statement by telling them to love their enemies.  The word hate is reserved for only one group of people, our enemies.  While Jesus doesn't condone hatred I think its important that we recognize what hatred means.  

Hatred is more than just desiring to hurt someone or something you dislike.  It also means to avoid and turn away from: www.m-w.com

Hate- (noun)

1 : to have an extreme hostility towards

Hate- (verb)

1 : to feel extreme dislike toward

2 : to have a strong aversion to 

What does aversion mean?

Aversion-

1 : to avoid/turn away from.

So, according to the dictionary we show hatred to people by ignoring, avoiding and turning away from them. Don't agree?  Think back to the first time you tried to find acceptance in another person.  What happened when that person ignored you or turned down your attempt at becoming friends.  You were hurt.  You probably felt like that person was avoiding you and that they disliked you.  Remember dislike is also defined as hatred!

Have you ever thought about how others may feel hatred from us simply because we avoid them?  Avoiding a person shows them that we aren't interested in them.  How many enemies have we made simply because we haven't taken the time to welcome them?  

Jesus gave us the best example of how to treat those we normally would avoid.  

Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of His enemies as he hung on the cross right beside them – Luke 23:34

The Bible also says in Matthew 5:43-47 that we are supposed to love our enemies. (Greek word for love in this passage is: agapeo- To openly welcome or entertain those we dislike or avoid.)

This type of love doesn't mean that we treat those we tend to avoid like our best friend, sister, brother or spouse.  What it does mean is that we should look for opportunities to give our enemies, those we avoid, an open door to connect with them.  

In short,  I wonder how many enemies I've made by ignoring people?  I wonder how many people feel like I dislike (hate) them because I avoid or ignore them?  How many people in my life could I have less conflict with if I would simply choose to quit ignoring them and start valuing their life?  

These are some tough questions I've been trying to answer lately.