Do you remember that classmate in elementary school who pulled the chair from underneath you as you proceeded to sit down? How about the bully in junior high that took your change that your mother had scraped up for you to buy your favorite ice cream? Perhaps you hadn’t forgotten about your so-called best friend in high school who took your girlfriend or boyfriend from you right before prom. It seems like we’ve come across some mean people while growing up.
Some of us couldn’t afford to have apartments by ourselves, so we got a roommate to share in the rent only to discover that they thought paying rent was an option, leaving us with the balance and eviction notice. What about that co-worker on your job who took all of your wonderful ideas, and presented them to the boss as theirs, which got them that bigggg corner office? Once again, it seems like we’ve come across some mean people.
These mean people that we’ve described are usually considered to be our enemy, because they don’t like us, and we aren’t too fond of them either. But as Christians, we are to have a different attitude and response toward those who seem to be cruel toward us. Contrary to worldly belief, we are to love mean people. I know the world says since you stole my mate, wait until you see the bait I use to steal yours, but for the Christian we are to love those who hurt us. Of course it’s not easy to love mean people, but with Christ it’s not impossible, as matter of fact Jesus gives us ways to love our enemies. Who better to show us how to love than Jesus himself, who was sent into this world because of the love God has for us.
As we paint the picture for this text, we see that Jesus was in the beginning stages of his ministry. He had just left his home in Nazareth and came and dwelled in Capernaum. After calling some of his first disciples, Jesus began teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He also healed people who had all kinds of sickness and diseases. As one might imagine, Jesus began to catch the attention of many people. The bible says that great multitudes of people started to follow Jesus. People came from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea, and from beyond the Jordan. His fame even went throughout all Syria, which was a neighboring nation. What made this so amazing was that people came from every geographical area of the nation of Israel to follow Jesus. But when Jesus saw the multitudes that had followed him, he stepped up into the pulpit; the bible calls it a mountain and he began to teach.
This particular occasion is called the Sermon on the Mount. In this message, Jesus began with blessings, for he came into this world to bless us. He also taught about things such as murder, divorce, fasting, and how to pray. In our text Jesus teaches us how to love mean people, A.K.A. our enemies. Here we find three ways to love mean people, this doesn’t mean that there only exist three ways, because there are many ways we can show love towards others as well as our enemies. But Jesus in this text shares with us three ways.
In verse 43, Jesus says, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” The Jews considered their neighbors to be those who were from their own country, nation, and of the same religion. Anybody outside of this, they look upon them as their enemies. Just like the Jews, we too have enemies, and not all of them are outside of the church. But where did they get this idea of hating their enemies, because it wasn’t biblical. As a matter of fact one of the Jewish laws found in Exodus says that if you see your enemy’s oxen or donkey that has gone astray, be sure to bring it back to them.
Maybe when God brought the children of Israel into the promise land, and told them to destroy the people that were there. Instead of the Jews seeing this as God’s judgment upon sinful people, some may have developed hatred toward other nations that passed from generation to generation. The Jews probably also got this idea of hating their enemies from worldly philosophy which says, “If you don’t love me, then I don’t love you. If you hate me, then I definitely hate you.” But Jesus sets the record straight, he said, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies.” Speaking with authority, Jesus doesn’t give us an option whether or not we want to love our enemies, but he commands us to love our enemies. As Christians, since we are to love our enemies, then let’s look at some ways we can love these mean people.
One way we can love mean people is by blessing them that curse us. Mean people don’t care what comes from there mouth, but as Christians we have to be conscience of what comes from ours. In the first book of Peter, we are told that when a person insults us, we aren’t to insult them back; instead we are to respond by blessing them. In doing this, we inherit a blessing. How do we bless those who speak evil toward us; those who try to degrade our character? We must bless them by speaking well of them. Behind our backs, mean people are tearing down our character, but behind their backs we’re speaking kind words about them. You see kindness is the ability to love people more than they really deserve.
The tongue is a small member of our body, but it can cause catastrophic damage to one’s heart. But if we obey God and bless those who curse us, then God will not allow the words of mean people to destroy us. If you want to be victorious over those who speak evil towards you, then all you have to do is bless them.
Another way we can love mean people is by doing good to them that hate us. In grammar the word “love” is a verb, but it is also an action verb. Love can be shown through physical action when we do good things for those who hate us. Paul in his letter to the Roman Church said that if your enemy is hungry, feed them, and if they are thirsty give them something to drink. You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving. But by giving to those who hate us, we will heap burning coals on their head. This phrase referred to an Egyptian tradition where a person would carry a pan of burning charcoal on their head as a public act of repentance. What Paul was trying to say is that when you do good things to those who hate you, they just might become ashamed of how they’ve treated you, and turn from their sin. Even if they don’t stop hating you, know that you have done your part, and that God is well pleased.
A few years ago, the young people were singing a song that said shake the haters off. In other words those people who hate you, don’t worry about them, step away and go about your business. But Jesus doesn’t want us to shake the haters off, but we are to actually confront haters with acts of goodness. You see if we shake the haters off, and go about our business, then we might miss an opportunity to lead someone to Christ. Because when you buy flowers for that person’s birthday who hate you, you better believe that you will catch their attention. They just might come to you one day and ask what made you buy those flowers, and that will be your opportunity to share with them the good news that changed your life.
Finally, as I get ready to close, sit down and be happy all by myself, we can love mean people by praying for those who despitefully use and persecute us. People don’t always have a reason to be abusive toward you, sometimes they just seek to harm and humiliate others just for the fun of it. These are the type of people that we call bullies, but these are also the type of people that Jesus told us to pray for. We pray for those who seek to harm us and embarrass us. We also pray for those who persecute us, those who harass and give us a hard time. Jesus didn’t command us to do nothing that he himself didn’t do. It was on the cross where Jesus prayed for his crucifiers who were despitefully using and persecuting him. Jesus asked his Father to forgive them, for they know not what they do. It is humanly possible for us to pray for our enemies, because the bible shares with us an account in Acts when Stephen was being stoned to death, yet he still prayed for his persecutors as stones hit his body, asking God not to lay this sin to their charge.
If we want to breathe out the true spirit of Christianity, then we must follow these commands of love that would make one seem peculiar to the world. I know they trying to get you fired at your job, but pray for them. They don’t want to see you with nice things, and you even caught them scratching your car, but pray for them. And when you pray, don’t only pray for those mean people, but pray and ask God to help you respond in the right way toward them. Ask God to show you how love them, when you know they have no love for you.
When we love our enemies in the ways Jesus commanded us, then we show that we are indeed children of God. God is our example in loving our enemies, because he makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust. If God showers His love on all mankind including his enemies, then we should be able to do the same. We should be able to love mean people by blessing those who curse us, doing good to those who hate us, and praying for those who despitefully use us, and persecute us. If we think about, before we came to Christ we were enemies of God, but yet he sent his Son, to die for our sins, don’t tell me that’s not love. When I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, I was stained deep within, sinking to rise no more, but the master of the sea, he heard my despairing cry, and from the waters he lifted me, now safe am I, it was love that lifted me, nothing but love that lifted me. Amen.
