Posted Feb 17, 2020 |
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“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles.” Proverbs 24:17
“Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.'” Proverbs 24:29
God wants us to love our enemy. There are times when love has been the farthest thing from my mind when I have had an enemy. They may call you names, treat you like trash, physically harm you, or destroy something you love. How would that make you feel?
He has called us to be better than what our natural tendencies would have us behave like. God says we need to help those who are down, not be glad in their hard times but to dust them off and help them find His way. Instead of giving your enemies the attitude they deserve, He wants us to treat them as His children and nothing less. It is not our job to judge and sentence people but it is our job to show people God’s love.
I personally have an easier time forgiving, not judging and loving people who I do not know. The most difficult people to show God’s love to are often our family members. Family members know your past and tend to hold on to that version of who you are instead of getting to know the new you. Family can quickly turn into enemies because they know what buttons to push and typically do not let up. The thing to remember is God loves them just as much and wants us to work even hard to do the same. This was, as you can probably tell, one of my major struggles and I have worked at changing my reaction towards their button pushing.
If you are a button pusher, consider taking your finger off the button because you may be the person increasing another’s struggle.
