What does "love your enemies" really mean?

So here's a doozy- what do the Washington Post and Sunday's sermon have in common? Read on and find out!

A piece in the Post caught my attention back in October and I saved the link. The article, 'Why everyone you know thinks the same as you," provided some food for thought to consider the people I spend time with. The article talks about 'homophily' the idea that "people seem to be drawn to others like themselves." More on the article in a moment.

This past Sunday, our pastor continued our series on the Sermon on the Mount. The passage was Matthew 5:43-48 (to check out the audio and or video file, go to the website).

The thrust of the message was a look at the passage in Leviticus where the Israelites are told to "love your neighbor as yourself" and the extrabiblical add-on "hate your enemies." Jesus turns this on its head and tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. For context, we also looked at the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) and reflected on the fact that part of the shock value of the story is - the Samaritan was racially and religiously different, and he was the one Jesus' listeners were told to emulate.

Our pastor defined the source of most conflicts in the world as a clash of race and/or religion. One of the key applications from the sermon was therefore to love those who are different - build friendships across racial lines, with your Muslim colleague at work; pray for those who are different.

I think this application is critical but see another area of application for myself that my fellow Washington-area residents (and others around the world) might find helpful.

Race and religion are really subsets of a broader category - culture. We tend to dislike (even if passively) those who don't agree with our cultural viewpoint. It can be big picture - capitalism vs socialism; or fairly nuanced - covenantal vs dispensational. The Post article pointed to research that showed American culture is increasingly segmenting with "Ever larger numbers of people seem to be sealing themselves off in worlds where everyone thinks the way they do."

Think, for example, about cable news channels. Many conservatives choose to watch Fox News because they get sick of the bias they see in the mainstream media. Christians with conservative political views may make the same decision, but that's where things can get tricky. Watch or listen to conservative talk shows - it's like political blood sport! Take Bill O'Reilly's show for example, it is predicated on attacking cultural difference - protecting one (cultural) perspective by undermining (and at times demeaning) another. This issue transcends the political spectrum and is just as evident in liberal talk shows as it is in conservative ones.

So what's the point?

The Post author did not take a position on whether homophily was right or wrong but he did make an observation that is very instructive:
In politics, for example, the fact that people rarely have friends with different views makes it difficult to seek common ground or to examine one's positions closely. Most of us would be hard-pressed to provide clear explanations for our political beliefs.
When we think through the political lens it means, if we're not careful, we are ceding 50 percent of the population that needs Jesus just as much as those whose political views we share. When we think about it through the lens of the Great Commission and the call to evangelism, the implication can be devastating - highly segmented culture presents high barriers for seeking and saving the lost and may affect our ability to be prepared to give a reason for the hope that we have.

Jesus lived cross culturally. He initiated a Christian counter-culture, not a Christian sub-culture. We must love those who are socially, politically, economically different and we must take seriously the call to pray for them.

Are you a Republican? Pray for Democrats, that God would lead Democrats into your life that you can win for Christ. That victory will be of much more significance in eternity than midterms and presidential elections.

Are you an Evangelical? Pray for liberal believers, that God would draw them to the truth of the gospel and give you wisdom to love those liberal believers that he places in your life.

What is the area where your personal prejudices and animosities have undermined your witness? What is the issue that allows your culture to overcome your desire to see God glorified?

It’s time to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.