Words of Grace

By Rev. Mahlon Nevel

There was a popular saying in the days when Jesus was here on earth: “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But what did Jesus say? He said:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and them who despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43,44).

Anybody can love those who love them. But to love those who hate us, that’s another story. When we can be like that, we show ourselves to be the children of our heavenly Father. (V. 45)

Bible in Pocket and Gun in Hand is a book about a frontier preacher in the days of the Old West. As he was preaching against the sin of hatred, he asked if anyone in the audience had overcome that sin.

The preacher was surprised when an old-timer stood to his feet. “You don’t hate anybody?” The preacher asked.
“No, sir,” was his reply to the preacher’s question.

“That’s a wonderful testimony,” he remarked. “Tell us just how that could be.”

The old gentleman responded with a grin, “All the skunks who done me dirty, all them scoundrels I hated, they’re all dead.”

That’s not the way to overcome hatred. We cannot wait until all of our enemies are dead. We must be willing to forgive them now. That’s how to overcome hatred.