Tag: Enemies

Digging in Deeper: Exodus 23:4-5

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“If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I love watching America’s Funniest Videos. I can sit for hours and laugh myself silly watching video after video of people doing crazy things or reacting to things in hilarious ways. The best videos, though, are always the ones in which someone probably gets hurt. There’s just something about a little kid hitting a ball right back into dad’s midsection that you can’t help laughing at. The misfortune of others is an easy thing to laugh at. When the other is someone we consider an enemy, though, the mirth can turn into a bit (or a lot) of schadenfreude. Yet how we treat our enemies matters. God has thoughts about it. Let’s talk about one of those thoughts right here.

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Morning Musing: Ephesians 6:12

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“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Who is your enemy? Now maybe you’re saintly enough that your response to that question is some version of, “I don’t have any enemies.” Granting that, who comes closest to that status for you? If you’re at all like a growing segment of our society, the answer just may be the people on the other side of the political aisle. In our hyper-partisan times, political rivals are among the most bitter enemies we have. The latest entry from Marvel Studios offers an important counterpoint to this decidedly unhealthy trend. Let’s talk today about Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

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Morning Musing: Luke 6:35

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“But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.”‬ ‭(CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

I was up early this morning composing today’s entry in my head before my fingers could hit the screen. I had a good intro and several profound points to make. It was going to be really good too. We were going to talk about one of my favorite things Jesus said on loving one another. I’d been planning on this day all week long. Then I got up and opened the Scriptures to read a bit before I wrote and the Spirit messed all of that up. Here’s what He wanted me to talk about instead.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 24:17-18

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“Don’t gloat when your enemy falls, and don’t let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, or the Lord will see, be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

It is satisfying to see someone who deserves justice get it. When someone has been wronged, we love to see them get what is right. Conversely, when someone has done something wrong, we love to see them get their due punishment. This is part of what made movies like Home Alone such a hit. A couple of bad guys got what was coming to them in deliciously hilarious fashion. But, while justice delivered is satisfying (and should be so), there’s a line here that we are wise to not cross. 

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Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 22:4

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“I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

We know what it looks like to be saved from our enemies, right? David sure did. It meant they were completely defeated and destroyed. It meant achieving military victory. It meant putting down any and every rebellion. It meant no one was standing in his way. He had experienced these kinds of victories all his life. But, as followers of Jesus, is this still the kind of victory we should expect to experience? 

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