Love Your Enemy?

Here we shall examine some of the ethics in the New Testament.

Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. [44] But I say unto you, 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; (KJV)

Who would follow this? Love your enemy? Sure, it's noble, but it's not practical. It's even more noble if the person who preaches it actually follows it. However, an examination of the Gospels will show this philosophy to be not only impractical, but also, in practice, makes Jesus into a hypocrite. Let's look at another excerpt from this chapter of Matthew:

Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: [22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (KJV)

Conceptually, this portion which I highlighted, is basically good. Let's see if Jesus practiced what he preached when he spoke:

Matthew 23:17 [Ye] fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? (KJV)

Luke 11:40 [Ye] fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? (KJV)

This is the same Jesus who called the Pharisees hypocrites. Did Jesus love his enemies? Did he love the Pharisees who are completely villified for not believing in Jesus?

John 8:44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (KJV)

Jesus loved his neighbors until they opposed him and became his enemies. And then he didn't even follow his own advice of loving them.

And what of Paul? Did he follow Jesus' teachings? After all, he claimed to be closest to Jesus spiritually, even though he never met Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 2:14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of G-d in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, [15] who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to G-d, but hostile to all men, (NAS)

KJV's rendering slightly different, saying "contrary to all men." NAS, on the other hand, is a bit more severe. Defaming the Jews, claiming we're "hostile to all men," is hardly the sign of a person who loves his enemies.

"Love your enemy" is a completely impractical and foolish precept. Few Christians follow it, and the ones who do follow it are the ones who are unwilling to do anything when evil is confronting them. These are the ones who would rather sit back and hope for the best, instead of standing upright and righting the wrongs in society.

John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (KJV)

If we were to implement this ethic, we would end up with a society full of people who when push comes to shove are unwilling to stand up and do what's right. How are to we to have punishment for crimes in this world if we bind ourselves like this? How are we to even try to achieve justice if we follow this ethic? What kind of world does it create?