Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, January 27, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
There’s a wonderful nugget of wisdom that comes out of 12-Step recovery literature. If you want to be rid of resentment toward another person, you pray every day for two weeks that God would give them everything you would want for yourself, even if you don’t want to or don’t believe the words you’re praying. Just do it, and the resentment will be lifted. In my own experience, sometimes this takes more than two weeks. And there are some resentments that stubbornly persist in spite of all effort to be rid of them. But there are really only one or two of those. For the most part, this absolutely works. Praying for my “enemies”—a strong word, which I would replace with “those whose actions and inactions have caused me genuine or perceived harm”—really does move me to a place of forgiveness. I begin to recognize their humanity, which is as imperfect as mine. I might even develop compassion for whatever it is in their lives that has led them to act in the way they do. Mind you, this doesn’t condone their actions or absolve them from responsibility, nor open me up for abuse. That’s between them and God. But I definitely benefit from the freedom that forgiveness of others gives to me.
How do I practice love for my enemies?