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Responding to Your Enemies
By Jeff Reed
I had only been on the job for a few months. I was hired to be an assistant manager and was eager to do a great job for my new employer. My training was not exactly what I had expected, but I felt confident that I could perform my new role effectively. In the restaurant I had been assigned to, I had a friend who had worked with me from my previous job. My general manager did not like him at all. My friend was very arrogant and would sexually harass her and others. She wasn’t aggressive or experienced enough to take the correct actions when dealing with his behavior.
My friend was a different person than when I had worked with him before. He was once a very nice, likable young man and treated everyone with respect. He was a fun person and one of the most dependable people I had the opportunity to work with. But he unfortunately had fallen in with the “wrong crowd” and drug abuse changed his character. It was on my third day working in this restaurant that I would have a confrontation with him.
It was the end of his shift and he made himself a sandwich. It was company policy for employees to eat for half price. He placed it in a bag and began to leave. I politely asked him, “Are you going to pay for that sandwich before you leave?”
He replied, “No, I’m just going to take it. I don’t ever pay for my food.”
I responded, ”You can’t take food without paying for it. That would be stealing.”
”I don’t care. Hey, its just one sandwich,” he told me as he left with the bag in his hand.
I informed my general manager later that day what had happened and she told me to call him up and fire him. She wanted to get rid of him and this was her chance. I now understand that calling someone on the phone to terminate his employment is not a very professional action. But I was a lot younger then and inexperienced, so I did as my boss asked me to do. I called him up. I explained to him that I was forced to terminate him for stealing. His response was not very positive. In fact, it was very scary.
He cussed me out pretty fiercely. He used language that I wouldn’t dare repeat in this article or in person. He ended his tirade with a very real physical threat on my life. He had now become a very real enemy. His hatred for me was intense.
Although this was probably the first time I made a real enemy, it unfortunately wouldn’t be the last. It’s strange how we can make enemies even when are trying to do the right things in life. Being a Christian, it is easy to make enemies because we naturally have to stand up for things that are right. Regrettably this Satan-inspired world improperly labels many of those same things as wrong or evil.
For example, if we believe homosexuality is a sin and that those who practice it need to repent, the world labels us homophobic and full of hate. This gives people opportunity to hate us because we trust the Creator. It seems like this attitude toward God’s people is becoming more widespread. Because we are Christians, there are people in this world who would kill us if given the opportunity.
So what is a Christian’s response to his enemies? Christ tells us in Matthew 5:43-45, “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 sons of your Father in heaven.”
Why should we love and even pray for those who hate us, want to harm us, or kill us? Our typical human reaction is to pray that God wipe out our enemies for us. Aren’t we the ones who are practicing the doing of His will? But Christ explains further in Matthew 5:45-48, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Christ explains here that God loves the righteous as well as the unrighteous. We are all His children. God created mankind for the purpose of being born again spiritually as literal children in His family. His plan is perfect and He has a timetable for every person who has ever lived to bring them to a knowledge of the truth. Christ tells us to be perfect like the Father in heaven. We should love everyone like he does. Praying for our enemies gives God opportunity to put His love and perfect character in us. We should pray that when their time comes that they respond to God’s call. We should pray for the day when we can all be true loving brothers and sisters.
Fortunately the threats that were made against me by my friend were never acted out. I had been a Christian for about six months and was able to pray for him. Even today, I still need to pray for him and all my enemies so that I can be like my Father in heaven. i
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