I have been blessed in reading Sam Storms' "More Precious than Gold: 50 Daily Meditations on the Psalms". I picked it up in a grocery store of all places, and it has been one of the best, most soul-filling purchases ever gotten from such a market!
The book itself is filled with all sorts of intellectual meat. I will be chewing on it all for days upon days to come.
In one chapter, Sam Storms talks about loving one's enemy. Amazingly, our enemies can most often be those who ought to be closest to us. Fellow believers, family members.
"The enemy spews out his venom expecting you to respond in kind. Part of the wicked pleasure he derives from being an enemy comes from provoking you to act just as wickedly as he does."
Enemies generally know how to push our buttons. With what they say, with what they do. They're incorrigible. They're stubbornly against you. The same goes for you, against them. Me, against my enemies.
Yet Jesus tells us to meet evil with goodness. As Sam Storms put it,
"...goodness shames the enemy. It forces him to look at himself rather than at you. When the light of kindness shines back in the face of darkness, the latter is exposed for what it really is. Attention is diverted from the abused to the abuser. The shame he feels upon being 'found out' will either harden or soften his heart."
Kindness is not letting your enemy walk all over you or take advantage of you. On the contrary, Sam Storms points out that kindness can in fact look like un-kindness:
"And yes, we are to 'hate' those whom we 'love'. When they persistently oppose the kingdom of Christ and will not repent, our jealousy for the name of Jesus should prompt us to pray: 'O, Lord, wilt Thou not slay the wicked? Vindicate your name, O lord, and may justice prevail in the destruction of those who have hardened their hearts in showing spite to your glory.'"
Yet, in my case, the usual description of "enemy" does not include taking advantage or any kind of abuse. Rather, I consider my enemies to be those who have, when it comes right down to it, petty disagreements with me.
The author goes on to point out our (my) usual excuses:
"But, Sam, you don't know who my enemies are. You have no idea how vile and vengeful and irritating they can be. They take advantage of my goodness; they are unfair; they exploit the fact that I'm a Christian; they constantly embarrass me in front of others and lie about me behind my back."
I'm sure most if not all people know of someone who takes advantage of them. When simple grievances become our focus, to the point where we are bitterly against another (even another believer), what are we forgetting? What am I forgetting, when I consider the people who get on my nerves, and think of them as enemies?
Sam Storms concludes,
"...if Stephen could love those who viciously stoned him, what excuse do we have for not loving people whose attack on us is admittedly less grievous?"
What indeed?
Yes, even Paul experienced extremes in his relationships. Consider Galatians 4:15-20
ReplyDelete15 What then has become of the blessing you felt? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.
16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.
18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,
19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
Alas, by Paul's example, we may indeed endure perplexity, despite our fondest wishes.