When you get an occasion to receive something, you think of yourself, „I deserve this. People don’t know me very well, but I know I’m a good person, I should receive something good. I’m worthy. I’m entitled to this!”.
When analyzing giving something to someone, criteria appears – „Do they deserve this? Is this the gift good fit for them? Am I doing a good thing by helping them?”.
Of course, if you tend to consider yourself worthy of good things coming your way, you should start with the assumption that others are also a good fit.
On the other hand, when analyzing the negative things, one might think „Hmm, I don’t deserve this. But if X receives this, they deserve this.”.
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
(Luke 6:27-36 NIV – Love for Enemies – “But to you who – Bible Gateway)
Why is forgiving and loving enemies so important? Because it’s a battle on two fronts:
- You see yourself as not deserving of a good thing but deserving of a bad thing and accept it with grace.
- You see others doing evil things and still loving them, even if your instincts tell you that even good people shouldn’t be loved.
It looks simple – „How hard is it to view myself as a person not deserving a lot of good things and of others being worthy of love even if they do evil things?”.
In practice, it’s more difficult than it appears.
