HOW TO KILL YOUR ENEMIES

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In Luke 6:27-36 Jesus gives a revolutionary plan for killing off all of your enemies. Let’s check it out:
"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 the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt. 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.

Now this is kingdom of heaven talk in a revolutionary way! If you only love those who love you, what’s so great about that? Absolutely nothing! Or if you do good to those who are good to you? Big deal! Then He speaks of lending money. This moves from preaching to meddling real quick. If you lend someone money, expecting to get it all back? Big deal! There is nothing so hot or different about that.

So Jesus gives three dimensions of kingdom living with respect to your enemies—those who are against you in some way. First—love your enemy. Second—do good to your enemy. Third—lend money to your enemy without expecting to get anything back.

In the prior paragraph He gives what may be used as the practical steps for loving, doing good and lending to your enemy.
Step #1—Do good to those who hate you. You see, Jesus is not talking about having sweet, ooey-gooey feelings for your enemies, but acting out your love—do good to them.
Step #2—Bless those who curse you. Instead of a curse for a curse, give them a blessing. A blessing is speaking well of them, giving them a gift or praising them for something in them.
Step #3—Pray for those who mistreat you. Now, Jesus takes it to the highest level—pray for them. Pray for them? My natural tendency is to pray against them. Jesus says, “Pray for them.”

Then Jesus offers one of the most quoted illustrations. He says that when a person slaps you on the cheek, turn your cheek so your enemy may slap the other. Wow! This is not just revolutionary, but sure suicide!

What Jesus is setting forth here is the difference between living in the kingdom of man, which is full of retaliation and getting even, and the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God. Jesus ushered in the kingdom and taught the good news of the kingdom everywhere He went. According to Jesus, living by the kingdom principles is not only revolutionary, but it is the best, most rewarding way to live—both here and now and for all eternity. This is why Jesus says your reward will be great and you will be considered children of the Most High God.

But wait a minute. Turn your cheek to be slapped again? Are you kidding? Think about this. The kingdom of man is all about the physical—the external. The kingdom of heaven is all about the spiritual—the internal. You are to take another external slap in order to heal this person on the inside. You see, this person who slapped you (did something against you) must be hurting very deeply on the inside. So, what’s a little bruise on your cheek (or on your self) matter compared to the bruising that is in his heart. And, the Most High God will be on your side working through you.

Don’t get hung up on the literal slapping on the cheek, but see it as an affront to you. He is not condoning staying in a physically abusive situation in your family. But the revolutionary principle is found in the last line of this paragraph: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s the golden rule, quoted by nearly all religions and recognized as the most fundamental way of living ever. This is at the foundation of what Jesus is saying when He says to love your enemies. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This revolutionary kingdom principle doesn’t need further explanation or proof that it works. We can all bring up impossible situations where there is no way this will work. Your mind has probably been flooded with all sorts of “exceptions” to what Jesus is saying. But here’s the problem. All of your exceptions are theoretical, not realities until you actually practice the principle. You see, Jesus and His principles need no further defense. Jesus and His principles require action. Don’t just tell people about Jesus; be Jesus to those you love and especially to those who don’t love you. Love your enemies. Try it out and watch Jesus begin to work in them and, more powerfully, within you.

Kill off all your enemies by loving them.