How to become God-like: On the commandment to love your enemies
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful", says Christ. Is it possible, and what does the commandment to love your enemies truly mean?
"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. …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 6:31-36).
The Savior's commandment that we must be as merciful as our Heavenly Father sometimes baffles us. Is this even possible? But I do not think the Lord would set tasks before us knowing they are beyond our reach. Judging by the state of most people's souls, demanding emotional sympathy for murderers and inhumans is pointless. Clearly, this is about something else.
Love as an effort of will
Most likely, it is about the effort of our will towards such people. This effort should manifest primarily in that we should not wish harm or revenge upon our enemies. Learn not to rejoice in their suffering, if it occurs. And if necessary, provide practical help to those who wish us harm. "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20).
The next point is prayer for the enemy. Yes, we may not feel love or even compassion for him. But we can, by making an effort of will, ask God to grant him repentance and change for the better. It is within our power not to respond to curses and insults in kind, not to wish for revenge. It’s unlikely that we’ll succeed right away, but let us remember the words of the Savior: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Luke 11:9).
Initially, it is better to train yourself to have a benevolent attitude towards all people.
Practice constant humility: give up your seat on public transport, forgive minor offenses, do not respond to insults, prioritize others' interests above your own. Try to remove derogatory words from your vocabulary and and refrain from saying anything judgmental about anyone.
Seeing the enemy as a sick person
First of all, the virtue of not wishing harm to anyone, even the most notorious scoundrels, should be strengthened in our soul. This is the first step towards love. To make it more confident, try to find justification for the enemy. I mean not his actions, but the state he is in. See him primarily as a spiritually sick person, possessed by a diabolical force that manifests in his ideas and actions.
A person becomes evil not from an excess of happiness, but from inner pain and fear.
Understanding this can replace hatred with pity, malice with compassion. Loving the enemy does not mean allowing him to invade your life. You can distance yourself from him both physically and emotionally. It is important to remember: hatred in our heart harms us first and foremost. It is our problem. And forgiveness is the only way to free ourselves from this heavy burden.
What do the holy fathers say?
The patristic tradition provides us with rich material on this subject.
- Saint John Chrysostom teaches to separate the person from the evil he commits. We must hate the sin, not the sinner himself.
- Abba Dorotheus noted that if God allowed someone to harm you, it means there is benefit for you in it. Perhaps, this evil humbles our souls and atones for sins. The enemy may actually not be an enemy but a remedy.
- Saint Isaac the Syrian wrote that self-compulsion in prayer for enemies leads to spiritual discipline. Acting according to the rule "from the external to the internal", by forcing ourselves to pray for adversaries, we gradually change our internal attitude towards them.
- Apostle Paul repeatedly urged: "Repay no one evil for evil… Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but give place to God's wrath… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17-21).
Love for enemies, according to the holy fathers, is not an emotional impulse, but the result of struggling with one's own pride, realizing one's sinfulness, and constant, forced prayer for the offender.
This is what we need to focus on. And then, God willing, we will gradually approach fulfilling that great commandment we heard in the Gospel: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
