I've noticed an alarming uptick in pugilistic language from my conservative Christian friends. It's as if the "attack dog" mentality of particular political leaders has somehow normalized this mode of engagement. "We're not going to take it lying down any more" is the now motto.
All of this is both disheartening and disturbing to see. The Bible is invariably marshaled in defense of this approach to one's neighbors who are now perceived as enemies. And a certain notion of "muscular Christianity" is invoked to underwrite a no holds barred rhetoric.
In practice, a theology of enemy treatment has replaced a theology of neighbor love. Political opponents are no longer adversaries; they’re now “traitors” and “enemies.” And Christians who challenge the POTUS are now perceived as enemies of the faith, personae non gratae.
Here then is my friendly reminder of Jesus' command to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, to be merciful, just as our Father is merciful--in the spirit of Proverbs 24:17, “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble.”
Does this mean that we remain passive in the face of senseless evil, abusive conduct & abuses of power, systemic oppression, persecutions of faith, dehumanizing activities, god-awful disasters & diseases? No. We work & pray for the common good in Jesus' name in public & private.
While the Bible doesn't deny the reality of enemies—societal, natural or demonic—the accent always lands on loving our human neighbors. Loving our enemies of course requires an extraordinary amount of humility. Every cell in our broken hearts resists it. It's impossible, we feel.
And apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible. And yet it's what Jesus explicitly commands. We name our enemies, as the psalms do, and we love them. We expose them and we release them. We rebuke them, where appropriate, and we serve them. That's the charge.
Loving our enemies also requires that we acknowledge our own tendencies to behave in enemy-like ways. We, too, dehumanize. We, too, use and abuse. We, too, withhold love and judge without mercy. We, too, act unjustly and remain indifferent to the suffering of others.
And when we wish to pray imprecatory prayers, we remember Bonhoeffer's words: "Only the person who is totally free of his own desire for revenge and free of hate and who is sure not to use his prayers to satisfy his own lust for revenge—only such a person can pray" such prayers.
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