How To Get Rid Of Your Enemies

What do you do when people do nasty things to you? What do you do when things happen like someone treating you like an enemy, hating you, cussing you out, abusing you or stealing your coat? That makes it harder to be a Christian, doesn’t it? Everyone here has had an encounter with someone who is just plain hard to be around. They show up in most every workplace, every neighborhood, and every family. They irritate you. They may really dislike you. What do you do? If someone attacks you, do you hit back? Do you just leave and let them get away with it? What do you do? You tell me. When someone is mean to you, what is your first impulse to do? What do you feel like doing when someone is mean to you?

I think we most often find ourselves choosing between two types of responses, passive and aggressive. The passive response is the avoidant response. Do nothing. Just get away. Don’t get involved. Maybe let someone trample over you, literally or figuratively. Just suck up and take it. Christians tend to favor this way. That may seem to work at times. But there are a lot of bullies out there who only get worse when you let them have their way.

The more you start telling yourself that you can’t do anything about it, the more you start to believe that you can’t do anything about it. You feel powerless, hopeless. And you often start to internalize it, saying, “If only I were a better person this wouldn’t happen.” Just giving in to abusive people all the time starts rotting you out inside. That’s no good. God doesn’t see you as inept or unlovable. You’ve got to do something. But what?

Then there’s the aggressive response, “fight fire with fire” has its problems, too. Things escalate all too easily. Once you let vengeance and retribution out of the bag it’s hard to put them back. In Iraq we are seeing every day how ancient tribal conflicts have been poisoned by the cycle of retaliation. Thousands of people have labeled everyone who isn’t in their religious sect as an enemy and as they fight it out, they are destroying their own country. Mohandas Gandhi said it very well, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Who gains in that? Many offices and school cafeterias have feuds brewing that do a lot of damage. Sometimes even churches.

Last week we looked at Jesus’ announcement of who are the prime candidates for the Kingdom of God. This week we begin a block of teaching on how citizens of the kingdom of God must live. And he begins with how Christians are to treat their enemies. This teaching has made true Christians stand out in the world for centuries. It makes our neighbors watch us and say, “God must be here. This is different. And it’s really good.”

So, what do you do when people are mean to you, when they treat you like an enemy? Our text is Luke 6:27-36. I encourage you to open your pew Bible to page 64 in the New Testament section so that you can see it for yourself. And there is no way that I can do justice to even these 9 verses in one morning, so, if you look carefully, so can see for yourself some things that I’ll have to skip over. Please stand for the reading of God’s word.

27 "`But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even `sinners' lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

What do you do when somebody treats you like an enemy? This is a huge subject, but let’s just look at the four things that Jesus said to do in the face of your enemies. They are in the first two verses of our text, 27 and 28. Can you find them?