9 of 100 – Don’t Enjoy Loving Your Enemies Too Much

Somewhere in scripture is says that loving your enemies is like pouring hot coals upon their head.  Most of the time what I want to do is shoot my enemies, humiliate my enemies, embarrass them, expose them for what they are and make them look really bad.

This loving response thing is unexpected.  When you have an enemy, someone that's at odds with you or you with them, kindness, patience and anything nice looks suspicious.  When you look at it from the outside, it seems completely out of line with what should be your response.

Revenge, which is the more natural response towards enemies, has hate, anger and bitterness at it's core.  It hits at your insides.  I once heard that revenge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

When you look at what you can do to respond to someone who's wronged you, a loving response says so much more about you than vengeance.  It reveals who you are and how you are wired inside.  It also reveals something about your peace of mind.  Someone who's plotting revenge is stressed, worried and torn inside.  Someone who's plotting a loving response is self-aware and at ease.

The good thing about this is the loving response will almost spite the other person.  If they really are that enemy inside and out, it will hit them like a ton of hot coals.  They will down right resent it.  At the same time, it might be what a person like this needs so they can turn around and inherit that peace the drives the response from you.

Love your enemies, "yes."  But don't enjoy it too much.