The vast majority of the world’s tragedies – and I would say all of our world’s violence – would stop if every human being on planet Earth consistently obeyed the two greatest commandments identified by Jesus of Nazareth 2000 years ago.
If every human being consistently loved God and loved his or her neighbor, there would be no crime, no violence, no mass shootings, no acts of terrorism, and no war.
Yes, there would still be natural disasters, disease, and other forms of suffering — thanks to the fallen world in which we live. But human beings would no longer intentionally hurt one another if we practiced love.
I’ve yet to meet a person who can honestly disagree with this.
The problem of course is that people don’t consistently love. They may pay lip service to love’s importance, but when they are challenged, threatened, or pushed — or when they are themselves hated — they react in kind. And thus our cycle of sin and suffering continues.
Jesus’ answer to this was that we should love even our enemies. Here is what He said:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48
Who is our “enemy”?
Well, practically speaking, Jesus is dealing with everyday human relations in this teaching. When one starts talking about nations and governments, it gets a little more complex, and more passages have to be brought into the discussion (such as Romans 13:1-7), but even then…
Nations are made up of people. And politics is downwind from culture. If you have a culture that values love and life, you’ll have policies that do the same.
But that’s for another discussion – another article. For now, I want to focus on everyday interaction. That interaction may concern political discourse. It often does. Or it may be conversations about religion. Or it could be within the home, at school, in the community, on the road, or over social media.
Jesus defines our enemies as those who “curse,” “hate,” “despitefully use,” or “persecute” us.
Anyone who condemns you, reviles you, exploits you, oppresses you, or seeks to harm you is your enemy.
An “enemy” can sometimes be an in-the-moment thing (like road rage) or you may have the misfortune of persistent, ongoing enemies.
Either way, an enemy is often a force that can wreak havoc in your life.
Now, here’s the thing.
When someone comes against you in such a way, that person puts you in a category — a category that is often inherently dehumanizing. The person no longer sees you as a full human being with value, relationships, or responsibilities. No, that person has reduced you to being simply an obstacle or threat to his or her security or happiness (either in general or in the moment).
It’s important that we understand that the first step in hating someone else is to dehumanize that person.
I once read an article written by a professor who was mobbed by angry, riotous students at one of our nation’s universities. These students were outraged about a particular speaker being invited on campus and were unleashing their rage on this professor. She would be hospitalized for her injuries. In her article, she observed that none of the students name-calling her, grabbing her, assaulting her, or trying to intimidate her would look her in the eye. To do so, she said, would be to acknowledge her humanity. And that is something the riotous mob would not do.
And yet that is precisely what Jesus tells us to do.
We must acknowledge the humanity of everyone – including those who may be our enemies. We must acknowledge their humanity – and love them accordingly.
We are to love our enemies.
Imagine what society would be like today if more of us did what Jesus said.
