The People You Dislike
Matthew 5:43-48 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
A question for you today … well, two actually. Firstly, how many people do you have in your life right know whom you dislike intensely? And secondly, when you run into them, how do you treat them?
And yes, if that makes you feel uncomfortable, you wouldn’t be alone. There are several people in my life right now whom I dislike intensely. One’s a bully – not that I feel bullied in any way, but I watch this man bully his staff in the most terrible way. There are a few others too. How about you?
And our natural reaction toward those people is, almost always, to hate them. Sometimes, we even want them harmed – tell them what we think, gossip about them – whatever that harm looks like. It’s just how we’re wired. And it’s into that reality that Jesus has this to say:
Matthew 5:43-48 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Know this: that you’ll never look into the eyes of someone whom God doesn’t love.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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