Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Antalan: Love your enemies By Roger P. Antalan Dateline IGaCoS
ONE of the hardest commandments to follow is to love your enemies. The Bible, In Matthew 5:44 clearly states: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
That is a very tall order, to say the least. Many years ago, a man was stabbed a number of times by his enemy. At the hospital, because he was seriously injured, a priest was called. Before the priest could say or do anything, the injured man haltingly said: "I don't want to confess, Father. I am going to survive and live. And I will kill my enemy."
Recently, an active political leader was falsely accused of rape. This was instigated by the opponent of his political boss. The case will not prosper but there will be many hearings at the barangay level. But the harm is done. He is worried; he cannot eat and cannot sleep. His neighbors look at him with raised eyebrows. He is angry. His wife told him: Giingnan tika nga ayaw pag apil-apil sa politika? (I told you not to join politics). Aside from taking the law into his hands, he is now consumed with plans and strategies on how to hit back at the instigator.
A local executive was falsely accused of graft and corruption by his enemy at the Ombudsman. The case dragged on for five years. At the end, he was exonerated. But the cost was enormous in terms of legal expenses, bad publicity, endless worry and sleepless nights. His lawyers wanted to counter sue for libel and defamation, but he did not do that. He is not contemplating on any act of revenge, but he feel he cannot love his accuser.
Dale Carnegie wrote: "When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us; power over our sleep; our appetites; our blood pressure; our health; and our happiness."
Consequently, there are people who really try to love their enemies. President Lincoln was once asked about his attitude toward his enemies. "Why do you try to make friends with them? You should try to destroy them." "Am I not destroying my enemies," Lincoln replied gently, "when I make them my friends?"
Time not only heals hatred of enemies, it also solves the problem. An old man of 97 was being interviewed by an admiring reporter. "You appear to be in marvelous condition, what else you can say?" asked the reporter. "Oh, yes, I'm doing fine. And, you know, I don't have an enemy in the world. I've out lived every one of them?"
Another reason why we should cherish our enemies -- at least they don't try to borrow money from us and be hit with a bad loan.
Enemies can make you wise. Pay attention to them, for they are the first to discover your mistakes. The small man flies into a rage over the slightest criticism, but the wise man is eager to learn from those who have censored him and reproved him. If you become a better person, then perhaps that is a one good reason for loving the enemy.
For most of us who have been really hurt, it is really hard to follow Christ's command to love the enemy. There must be a better reason. Martin Niemoller came out of Hitler's prison saying. "It took me a long time to learn that God is not the enemy of my enemies. He is not even the enemy of His own enemies." That is a deep thought to understand.
Anyway, if we find it really hard to forgive and forget and love the enemy, we can follow what the famous Voltaire did: "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous! And God granted it."
And so, smile. It will make your enemies wonder what you're up to.
