The kangaroos pictured above illustrate one way to manage our enemies. I can identify with both of them. What about you?

How do we define “enemy”? Is it anyone who disagrees with us, hates us, or tries to harm us? Our country’s polarization dominates politics, protests, and responses to the pandemic, meaning everyone we meet poses a potential threat. Must we consider enemies those who count us as theirs? Are any of us enemy-free?

In Jesus’ day, the law of reciprocity was the unspoken rule of relationships. To your friend and brother, you returned love; to the one who harmed you, you responded in kind. Jesus, however, countered the natural human response. He didn’t quote his source, but the Hebrew Scriptures never commanded Jews to hate their enemies. They were, on the contrary, to be kind to them. Nevertheless, some people justified hatred for enemies. 

Rather than eliminating reciprocity, Jesus gave it a new twist.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:43-45

We are to treat people not as they have treated us, but as God has treated us. We’re to reflect his love in our relationships. Not so we can earn the right to be his children but because we are his children.

First-Century Enemies

Most Jews in the first century considered the Romans their enemies. Yet Jesus instructed his followers to overlook insults and give more than requested, relinquishing both their shirt and coat (Matthew 5:38-42). E. Randolph Richards and Richard James observe:

Giving the coat is a gift—a gift to an adversary…. Gifts in his reciprocal world sought to establish friendships. Giving the coat would be a gesture of magnanimity, goodwill, even a desire for relationship. 

Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World

In other words, Jesus told his listeners to respond to their foes as if they were friends.

What about Jesus? Did he have enemies? Such as the religious leaders who criticized him and the Romans who crucified him. Since actions, rather than words or feelings, prove the authenticity of love, we can look at Jesus’ life to determine how he treated those who deemed him an enemy.

 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:13

Given that Jesus died for all, we see he treated even those who rejected him as friends.

Yes, Jesus had an enemy—not a human being but the adversary who sought to derail his mission throughout his ministry. The one he overcame on the cross. The one whose defeat he demonstrated when he rose from the dead.

Steps to Enemy Elimination

Most of us would rather not have enemies. So, how can we get rid of them?

• Review our hearts: Get quiet before God. Ask him to reveal how we are contributing to any broken relationships in our lives. Seek his solution for a resolution. Then obey his directions. 
• Recognize our real enemy: It’s not the one who dislikes, disagrees, or even hurts us but the evil one who opposes God’s purpose for his creation. A purpose much more significant than the issues that divide us. People weren’t Jesus’ enemies, nor are they ours.
• Recycle our enemies: Attempt to transform them into friends. Perhaps by giving them a gift, helping them, or asking them for assistance or advice.

If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.

Romans 12:20; Proverbs 25:21-22

In the ancient world, burning coals were necessary for heating and cooking. To heap hot coals on an enemy’s head was a metaphor for providing for his basic needs. The coals symbolize gifts, deeds of kindness, intended not to inflict retaliation but to inspire reconciliation. Gift-giving can turn enemies into friends. The result depends in no small measure on our attitudes and motives.

Jesus doesn’t ask his disciples to ignore the basic principles of justice. Nevertheless, he calls us to abandon our desire for revenge and retribution, refusing to engage in false honor competitions. When we love our enemies, we strip them of their power over us. Rather than reflecting their attitudes and actions, we exercise our Spirit-given ability to love them as God loves us. And we exemplify God’s message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

How does Jesus’ directive speak to our political divide? How can Jesus-followers live out our responsibility to be ministers of reconciliation, eliminating our enemies by turning them into friends?