Love, Bless, Do Good, and Pray for those who Hate You!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ ‘But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.’” Matthew 5:43-44 NKJV

I have heard people say, ‘I like everybody.’ Others have commented, ‘There isn’t a person he or she hasn’t met they do not like.’ Not to be overly critical, but I find that hard to believe. There are a lot of people I don’t like. Sounds unchristian, I know. But think about it. Do you like everyone you know or have ever met? A pastor friend of mine said to me a few years back as I was pursuing a pastorate ministry, you don’t need to like everyone in your congregation, you need to love them. I admit it was a comforting thought, but then realized I needed to love them. That is hard enough, but what about those you despise and hate you, how do you love them?

In the most famous sermon of all time, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’” (Mt. 5:43 NKJV) Loving your neighbor is certainly found in the pages of the Old Testament of which those in His hearing would have recognized. But ‘hate your enemy’ is not in scripture but was from hearing the scribes and Pharisees interpretation on how to apply the command of ‘love your neighbor.’ Obviously, they taught that if you didn’t like someone and they were indeed your enemy, it was permitted to hate them.

Jesus, as he always did, corrected their ill-advised thinking. He knew what they had heard and were taught was the growing sentiment of how to treat people and said to them, ‘But I say to you.’ He was telling them to forget what they heard from their teachers and listen to Him. Those who follow Jesus, live by a whole set of different rules, His rules. We are to love our enemies, bless those who ridicule and mock us, be nice to those who mistreat us, and pray for those who take advantage of us, and persecute us. Again, how are we to do this, love those who hate us? On our own this is impossible, but with Christ’s love living in us through the Holy Spirit, we are assured to love our enemies, even those we don’t like.

Read: Matthew 5:43-48 NKJV – Love Your Enemies – “You have heard – Bible Gateway