Love Your Enemy ~ 20210825 ~ Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV (CFC Nugget)

 

Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV

 

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”

 

            It’s interesting, in 2021, that our concept of how to treat one another seems to have been lost in the sauce of the COVID pandemic, the death of George Floyd, the subsequent outrage and riots, the mandate for masks and vaccinations, elections, storming the Capitol, CRT, wokeness, the cancel culture movement … you name it. Our nation … our world … has been presented with multiple opportunities to be at odds with one another.

 

            All too often, I believe, we find ourselves struggling through the crucible of adversity, like we have since 2020, and our response is to cannibalize our neighbor. You have a different opinion than me so that means we must be enemies! It’s gotten to the point of being ridiculous because, to a large degree, we have all bought into the narrative.

 

            For the believer, we have been commanded to love our neighbors (Matt. 22:36-40) and even go so far as love our enemies (Matt. 5:44). We can’t do this while we’re throwing stones at one another. Somebody must put down the stone. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found in John 8:1-11. It’s the story of Jesus being confronted by the Pharisees concerning a woman caught in adultery. There are so many aspects of this story from which we can draw out the heart of God and, as importantly, his intent for how we, as the human race, should treat one another. My favorite verse in the story says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).

 

            Unforgiveness breeds bitterness … not in your enemy’s heart but in your heart! That’s the concern. If you learn to forgive and go above and beyond to love your enemy … “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink” … you are being the light this dark world so desperately needs.