I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that!
Let’s do a thought experiment: Imagine that on your job site, the city inspector seems to have invented 107 new violations today that were not there yesterday, which could cost many thousands of dollars per day in delays. That’s easy for many to imagine because something like that has happened to them, or maybe it is right now.
Now imagine praying for that inspector’s well-being and her highest good.
Why would you even consider doing so?
Jesus said, “But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven.”
Maybe you are considering this quote from the great rock and roll philosopher Meat Loaf: “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that.”
Here, we will ask questions such as: Do we, as followers of Jesus, support public policies that are incongruent with a biblical worldview? And if so, how would we know?
Today, let’s consider what loving our enemy means in practice.
Let’s review what Jesus commanded via the Amplified Bible, an excellent resource for reading Matthew chapters 5-7, The Sermon on the Mount. Let’s consider those enemies from Jesus’ perspective as recorded in chapter 5:43-48: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]. 46 For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that? 48 You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.
You may be thinking that Meatloaf was correct and agree… Surely, Jesus was not serious.
From ChatGPT on March 5, 2024, after this prompt “Who is Jesus referring to when he says "enemies?" in reference to Matthew 5:43-48:
When Jesus speaks of "enemies" in Matthew 5:44, He refers to those who oppose, mistreat, or harbor ill will towards His followers. In this context, an enemy could be anyone who acts against or persecutes believers because of their faith or convictions.
Jesus's teachings on loving one's enemies represent a radical departure from conventional wisdom. He calls His followers to extend love and compassion even to those who may harbor hate or seek to harm them. By loving their enemies and praying for those who persecute them, believers demonstrate the transformative power of divine love and reflect the character of God.
In a broader sense, "enemies" may encompass anyone with whom individuals have conflicts or disagreements, whether personal, social, or ideological. Jesus's message emphasizes the importance of reconciliation, forgiveness, and seeking the well-being of others, even in the face of adversity or opposition.
Once again, Chat GPT 3.5 does well.
Who is our enemy, and what does it mean to seek their best or higher good out?
When Jesus told us how to act, Israel was under Roman occupation. If a Roman soldier told us to carry his gear the obligatory mile, we'd need to:
not get furiously angry for being treated like a servant
not hate in my heart
act in a way that demonstrates "love" or compassion, which includes going the second mile.
What does that look like today?
How do we determine if someone is our enemy?
Perhaps our “enemy” is whomever we end up in conflict with, actual conflict, not perceived, meaning they have direct knowledge of us?
Doesn’t that mean they are inside our circle of influence, not merely our circle of concern?
Remember that a group cannot be our enemy because only individuals act, not groups. If we need to be directly engaged in the conflict, a member of a group could only be our enemy in specific situations and then only as an individual.
If we start with our enemy as the person we are in conflict with, what does that look like in real life (IRL, as the kids say)?
Government
Can a politician be our enemy?
Is the politician advocating for a law that we feel is against God’s ways our enemy?
Is our enemy the person running for election via the “other party?”
Is my enemy the person who wants mandatory _______?
Is our enemy the city inspector who appears to be fighting our expansion plans each step of the way?
Work
Is our leadership on the job an enemy because we feel they hinder our ability to grow?
What if we are fired and we feel we were wronged? Are the leaders of that company our enemies?
Community
Are illegal aliens our enemies?
Are drug dealers our enemies?
Is our enemy our neighbor who isn’t friendly?
Is our enemy the social media troll?
Is our enemy the person in traffic whose driving isn’t up to our standards?
Is the driver who almost ran me off the road, my enemy?
Does the politician from the other party know me personally? Are we engaged in a conflict that we both know about?
If our enemies are those who are directly engaged with us in conflict, like a neighbor who is consistently unkind and has loud parties, the social media troll, the bad driver who wants to cut in when they should have done so two miles back, and the manager who is our boss’s boss who said we are not getting promoted as long as they are there, what does living Jesus’ words look like?
Am I willing to try and engage in healthy conflict, going to the neighbor to ask about the music or calling the police first? If I go to them and my request is denied, will I “go the extra mile” for this neighbor? Am I going back home and calling law enforcement? Am I returning home and praying for their “best and highest good?”
With the driver failing to function correctly, will I be slow to anger, let them in, and not say unkind things about them to those in my vehicle? I usually don’t, so I have much to work on here.
In the past, when I was wronged, if legal recourse was available, I used it. I would pray for my highest good, but not theirs.
If living “the good life” and flourishing requires that I seek out the best, the highest good for my enemies, those I am in direct conflict with, am I willing to pay the price to go the extra mile?
Will I separate truth from fiction, label situations appropriately, not overreact, and think everyone is my “enemy?”
Will I reconsider the next time I want to involve attorneys in a conflict, resort first to prayer, and seek the highest good for the person I feel is wronging me? Am I willing to pay the price, literally and figuratively?
I must pray about this, and we must talk more about it.
#JustThinkAboutIt
