Love Your Enemies
It is not the Lord's will that you should hate your enemies and love when they are destroyed.
Introduction
Something has been on my heart for a while now and I’ve decided to write about it today. I see a lot of people rejoice when their enemy is harmed or destroyed.
I expect this out of people who do not believe in Jesus. However, I expect followers of Jesus Christ to do better. It is extremely clear in the Bible that it is not God’s will for us to rejoice at the harm of another. Even if that person is doing despicable things.
What God Says About Rejoicing At Another’s Destruction
I was reading Job today and I came across chapter 31, verses 29 and 30, which are:
29 If I rejoice at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:
30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.
Job is going on a rant about how if he did bad things then God should punish him, but he thinks he didn’t do anything bad. Verses 29 and 30 are in the list of bad things he says he did not do. Notice that rejoicing at the destruction of those that hated him is on the list.
Also, notice that cursing someone’s soul is on that list too. How many times have you bought eggs or gas in the last year and cursed President Biden? How many times have you cursed Dr. Fauci and the other health officials that have kicked off a new holocaust with their Covid jabs?
I’ll be the first one to admit, I have probably cursed these people and more. I shouldn’t have done that. God is very clear that we shouldn’t do that. In case the verses from Job do not convince you, lets take a look at Ezekiel 33:11:
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
This is the Lord literally saying He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He really does want them to turn from their wicked ways. And since not a one of us live up to the glory of God, we should be very, very glad God doesn’t want to punish us even when we are doing wrong.
What Should We Do Instead?
So what should we do instead of rejoicing and being happy when an enemy is destroyed? Well, obviously, we should be sad when anyone gets destroyed. Every single of one of us is God’s creation and it’s sad when the devil gets a hold of one of them and leads them to destruction. It’s such a waste of precious human life.
Lets see what Jesus says about how we should treat our enemies in Luke 6:
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Jesus tells us to do good to our enemies and to pray for them. Even the ones that use you. How many of us have prayed for Joe Biden? Dr. Fauci? Whoever your favorite villain is?
I know this is the opposite of our human nature, but it’s precisely because of our human nature that we all deserve to go to hell. Instead, follow Jesus’s advice. Pray for these people and do good for them. Let God do the job of punishing them and/or changing their heart. That’s not our job.
What if we all, as Christians, started praying for people doing really bad things? Do you realize how much better things would be if we did that? God answers prayers and can soften anyone’s heart. The apostle Paul is a shining example of that.
One note: this in no way means that we should let murderers, rapists, thieves, etc. roam around free to commit more crimes. However, it does mean we should let our government/laws take care of them. Remember, God set up the governments for His purpose and one of their purposes is to maintain order.