Love your enemy as yourself: the meaning of the commandment
The Son of God Jesus Christ, born on earth by the immaculate virgin Mary, left us many commandments. By observing them, we get the opportunity to gain God’s mercy and enter his kingdom. In addition to the fact that Jesus commanded us that it is a great sin to kill, steal, bear false witness, and cheat on a husband and wife, there is one very wise one that is difficult to understand and accept.
Love for one's neighbor
Christ taught us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse, to do good to those who hate, to sincerely pray for those who offend us and with faith. Then we will be sons of our Heavenly Father, for He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the sinless. The meaning of this commandment is deep and at the same time almost incomprehensible to the common man.
The phrase looks different in the sources
“Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible” reports that this text differs in different sources.
“The expression: “bless those who curse you” was issued in Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and the Vulgate of some other Latins. translations, in Tischend. and Westk. Hort, and is available in the recepta, almost all italics, of John Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact and many others.
The expression: “do good to those who hate you” is issued in Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, but is found in the recepta, almost all italics, the Vulgate and Syriac Pescito.
Finally: “for those who offend you” was issued in Sinai, Ikan in Tishend. and West. Horta; but is found in the recepta, in almost all italic, ancient Latins. and Pescito. (But all these words are in Slavic. Ed.).
Thus, in a number of codes these words are not present; but the overwhelming majority of manuscripts and quotations from church writers are in their favor. Many exegetes think that these words are interpolated from Luke. 6:27, 28. Comparing the text of Matthew and Luke, we find that, if we do not pay attention to the permutations, it is the same for both evangelists. But other exegetes hold different opinions and say that there is no sufficient reason to suspect interpolation here. Tsang recognizes the text as authentic, although he does not speak out decisively.”
A.P. Lopukhin
author of Lopukhin's Explanatory Bible
Also, Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible cites similar commandments from Buddhist sources:
“Conquer anger with the absence of anger
Conquer injustice with kindness
Defeat a vile person for nothing,
And the liar - with the truth."
"Lopukhin's Explanatory Bible"
Many other religions also called for charity to those who hated. A striking example is Hinduism. His texts Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam mainly deal with love for one's neighbor, enemies, God and everything in our world.
In fact, representatives of many cultures and religions showed love and considered it the highest feeling. The pagans do the same, so Christians must be especially zealous in love, kindness, compassion and the ability to stand in someone else’s shoes.
We, believers, shape the face of Orthodoxy. And his pious reputation is also the task of the life of a Christian who intends to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The suffering of Jesus Christ for our sins
The holy scripture, the Bible, has survived to this day. This book consists of two parts: the old and new testament. The Old Testament describes how the Lord himself appeared to some lay people in various forms and gave instructions by sending signs.
Jesus suffered for us
In the new covenant, the representative of the Lord on earth is his son Jesus Christ, sent to earth to accept suffering for the atonement of human sins. Someone believed in the son of God and followed him, following his instructions, but there were also those who abused him. Jesus was crucified on the cross and suffered terrible torment, but did not curse his enemies.
Bless your enemies
“...Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you...”
Gospel of Matthew (5:43-45)
And, in fact, why and for what should we love and forgive our enemies?
Let us note several such reasons.
First, because we are all people, rational beings, capable of reasoning, delusion and understanding. Therefore, there is always hope that someday, under certain circumstances, our enemies will change their positions and turn into our friends. Or, on the contrary, we will understand under the hail of their arguments that we were wrong, we will repent and join our now former enemies as their allies.
People have the right to make mistakes, everyone can make mistakes, and therefore it is necessary to always leave people a chance to admit their mistakes and repent. And then even our deadliest sworn enemies can turn into our supporters, as happened once with the Apostle Paul. Love and forgive your enemies, because one day they may become your friends.
As long as a person is alive, there is hope for salvation. A person can know the truth even moments before death, being crucified on the cross. Therefore, pray for your enemies so that they become your friends - this sometimes happens.
In addition, circumstances are sometimes stronger than people, and circumstances sometimes unite two irreconcilable opponents together in a common struggle, as was the case during the Second World War. Then, without the help of the allies, who knows how the history of Soviet Russia would have turned out.
“England has no friends, only allies,” says an English proverb. It accurately illustrates the fact that historical circumstances often change the places of allies and enemies. In the struggle for primacy there are no “eternal” opponents and allies. When necessary, the Englishman argues, we are friends with Russia against France, and when necessary, with France against Russia. All other Europeans argue in much the same way.
Another reason why we should be grateful to our enemies is that it is the enemies who are always completely honest in their hatred of us, revealing our strengths and weaknesses with their hatred. Our enemies, thereby, help us understand ourselves, force us to constantly think about our lives, evaluate the correctness of our actions.
But is it possible to do without enemies at all? European mass propaganda now loves to portray a conflict-free world full of smiles and happy faces. Who is man's enemy if everyone around him is tolerantly happy?
But isn't a serial killer the enemy of ALL people? Doesn't a thief spit on people and human laws? Isn't a terrorist who cuts the heads of innocents the enemy of ANY CIVILIZED person, no matter where he lives? Isn't a dictator who unleashes an unjust war the enemy of all humanity? Is the world already rid of scoundrels?
That is, EVERY NORMALLY THINKING PERSON HAS PERSONAL ENEMIES. Another thing is that in the fast pace of life we do not often encounter such enemies and sometimes we even forget about their existence. But sometimes enemies unexpectedly remind us of themselves... through misfortune and the death of our loved ones.
What about the state? Can it live in peace with all its neighbors and have no enemies among them?
The history of mankind shows that this is impossible to even imagine. The history of mankind is the history of conflicts in which neighbors clashed with each other.
But maybe now other times have come, when hostility is replaced by tolerance and when the “enemy-friend” dilemma is becoming a thing of the past? It’s hard to believe in such peacefulness, keeping in mind the constantly growing “defense” spending in all countries (not, of course, under the cover of the “nuclear umbrella”).
Any country on the planet that defends its national interests, as it understands them, cannot fail to take into account that the implementation of these interests may conflict with the interests of another country. And it’s good if these mutually hostile interests can be resolved at the negotiating table. But this does not mean that hostility has disappeared, it only “hidden” until better times, when it will be possible to not give a damn about the opinion of a neighbor and establish your own rules of the game.
The thousand-year practice of international conflicts clearly shows how to behave in dealing with the enemy.
The more fiercely our enemies scold us for something, the more we should be imbued with confidence that we are right. And the more flattering our enemies treat us, the more joyfully they praise our actions, the more suspicion we should have of the error of our actions.
Enemies can hide behind a mask of virtue, courtesy and nobility for a very long time, hatching their insidious plans against us, waiting for the moment of reprisal against us. This is why it is extremely important to know and understand your enemies so as not to fall for their tricks. You have to think!
However, during the time of the last Secretary General, the Soviet Union suddenly miraculously lost its enemies - they disappeared in an instant!
All former enemies suddenly became our best friends. And all the Soviet country needed was to abandon the Bolshevik ideology, so as not to be the “Evil Empire,” as its enemies then called the USSR. It was necessary to simply “turn our face to the people”, to satisfy their needs for “bread and circuses.” And our sworn enemies suddenly appeared before us as charming, smiling people, sincerely rejoicing at the beginning of Russia’s movement towards their understanding of democracy and freedom.
There was a feeling during perestroika that all the imperialist capitalists suddenly turned into joyful friends of Russia, wishing its people success and prosperity. What kind of settlements can there be between friends? Only complete trust! The Warsaw Pact is instantly falling apart! The reunification of Germany is happening instantly! Instantly, Soviet troops are removed from the equipped barracks into the open field! And all for free! You live a great life! Well, what about it? After all, we are now friends forever!
Forever?
In the 90s, Russian media excitedly praised everything Euro-American, glorifying freedom and democracy, capitalism and entrepreneurship, humanism and tolerance. The Russian intellectuals had finally broken through - nothing now stopped them from so cheerfully and fervently ridiculing the Soviet past and so furiously and derogatorily denouncing the Russian present. To the “fools and roads” were added “no one needs an army”, “no one needs a fleet”, “no one needs industry”, “backward agriculture”, “soviet culture”.
“Now we are friends of Europe and America, and we must kick the Russian nag into Western civilization, mercilessly trampling its rotten values,” - this is what Russian intellectuals saw as the main task of the moment in the dashing 90s. On this wave of blind love for Euro-America, a new generation of advanced and creative intellectuals has now grown, for whom the Motherland has turned into Russia, from which they “must get out.” Go to places where the wages are higher and the food is better, where the house is more spacious and the work is more prestigious. Like, “you can’t forbid living happily”!
What about Russia? “...Well, Russia? I lowered my head and resigned myself..."
Russia has come to terms with the division of Yugoslavia, with the transformation of Afghanistan into a global drug producer, with the destruction of legitimate regimes in Asian and African countries, with brutal reprisals against civilians and politicians in many countries.
And Russia, intoxicated by liberal propaganda, obediently accepted one slap in the face after another. The collapse of the USSR - please, the shooting of parliament - please, the extermination of Russians in Central Asia and the Caucasus - please, the proclamation of apartheid in the Baltic states - please, the revival of Nazism in Georgia and Ukraine - please, the entry of former allies of the USSR into the European Union - please, NATO's approach to borders of Russia - please, dominance of foreign agents and rampant swamp lawlessness on Russian territory - please. Russia obediently swallowed everything that Western and Russian liberals brought to it.
But why did this happen? But because Russia has forgotten who is its friend and who is its enemy. Who should you be offended by if there are only friends around? Russia has lost the criterion of truth in assessing its neighbors.
For a long time, Soviet communist propaganda stupidly hammered into the heads of Soviet people the idea that the enemies of the USSR were the capitalist-imperialists of all countries, led by the United States. Precisely because the USSR is building a communist society. That is, according to the ideology of the CPSU, the main struggle in the world is between communism and capitalism. The main historical opponents are communism and capitalism.
It was this thoughtlessness that the enemies of Russia took advantage of, starting from the first years of Soviet power. They wittily contrasted the peoples of Russia with communism: they say that the peoples of Russia are under the yoke of communists. Thus, Russia's enemies immediately turn into its friends - it is necessary to free the poor Russians from cruel communism.
The enemies of the USSR have always fiercely criticized communist ideology, the CPSU, ridiculed the “policy of the party and government,” passing off their criticism as sympathy for the Russian peoples languishing under the heel of totalitarianism. The goal is clear: to create among Russians a positive image of the capitalist world, which cares about the fate of the peoples of Russia, and to overthrow communism with the hands of the Russians themselves.
The stupidity of communist propaganda in the USSR allowed cunning liberals to impose on Russians the opinion that the West is not fighting against the peoples of Russia, but against communism, which “enslaved” the Russians. They say that in order for Russians to live in the same “dignity” as people in the West live, they just need to throw off the yoke of communism and join the “civilized” world.
Communist propaganda in the USSR, while defending communism, lost completely in the ideological war to Western liberalism, which managed to present itself as a defender of the material needs of the citizens of the USSR. Appealing to the desires of the builders of communism to live “like all civilized people,” Western liberal propaganda offered a “simple” way to satisfy material needs—as soon as they abandoned communism, the peoples of the USSR would live as financially secure as people in the West live. We must free ourselves from the communist yoke that restrains human freedom in order to live the way people live in “civilized countries.”
And the most shameful thing for communist ideology is that the Soviet people's intelligentsia was the first to fall for this trick of Western liberalism. It was the Soviet intellectuals, despite all their “intelligence” and “consciousness,” who were unable to realize that, under the pretext of fighting communism, the West was actually waging an irreconcilable struggle against the very existence of Russia. It was the Soviet intelligentsia that became the “fifth column” of the West in the fight against Russia. It was the Soviet intellectuals who were the first to buy into the West’s assurances of its selfless love for Russia and began to passionately call for a fight “for your and our freedom.” Why do we need to make missiles and block the Yenisei? We just need to drive out the commies and Russia will be happy.
It is Russian intellectuals, fooled to the point of stupidity by Western verbiage, who can tirelessly “drive a blizzard” at Russians about a civilized, humane, democratic, progressive, humane-loving, free and tolerant Euro-America. The Europeans themselves, we must give them their due, never really hid the truth (for there is no one more honest than your enemy in his hatred of you).
The “Iron Lady,” for example, never hid from anyone that Russia only needs 15 million inhabitants to be a successful supplier of natural resources to Europeans.
Zbigniew Brzezinski spoke directly in his books about the dismemberment of Russia.
Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton have never hidden the opinion that Russia does not rightfully occupy such large territories in Siberia and the Far East, rich in useful resources. Not according to Senka, like, a hat!
And there is “nothing personal” in this desire of Western liberals - they have nothing against the Russian people, they are only against the fact that the Russian people own (allegedly undeservedly) one seventh of the planet’s land area. If only the Russians would have given up their territories to the West, or sold them for a handful of beads (like the Indians sold Manhattan), and slowly died out in the reservations set aside for them.
But the Russian liberal media simply blurt out these statements from Russia’s enemies with their persistent advertising of the Western way of life. And this would continue until the final solution of the Russian question. But then suddenly the Maidan happened. And the truth was revealed in all its tragic glory.
Soviet propaganda constantly hammered into the Soviet people the idea that the West was the enemy of communism, but not of Russia. In this, Soviet propaganda amazingly helped capitalist propaganda. The Soviet people could not even imagine that the capitalists actually hated them, and not communism. And gradually the Soviet people began to believe that Euro-America would take them into its arms as soon as the communist regime in the USSR fell. The peoples of the Soviet Union naively expected that the door to Europe would open as wide for them as it did for the East Germans after the fall of the Wall. Western propagandists convinced the Soviet people, corrupting them with promises of a well-fed life, that the West dreams only of a prosperous Russia free from communists. That is why the Russians parted with Soviet power so easily.
And then the truth was revealed. It turned out that the West does not care deeply about Russian welfare, does not care about whose power the Russian people are under: communists or democrats, Zionists or fascists. ALL THIS TIME THE WEST HAS BEEN FIGHTING NOT WITH COMMUNISM, BUT WITH RUSSIA.
Russia is the goal of the West. To split Russia into small principalities and destroy Russia—this is the goal of all Western policy in recent centuries, as it was fully revealed to the Russians (once again, by the way!) just now.
And we, naive, believed that the West would allow the Russians, who got rid of the communists, to build their own “indivisible”. Whatever the case! It turns out that the West was in conflict not with communism in the 20th century, but with Russia. But “dear Russians” did not understand this, destroying the great Soviet Union. They thought that they were getting rid of communism, but in fact they were destroying Russia with their own hands and ruining their future. In order to understand this, it took the Russian defeat in the 90s, it took the death of several states, it took NATO approaching Russian borders, it took the Nazi coup in Ukraine, it took the gross deceit and duplicity of the liberal West in relation to all countries of the world.
By its behavior, its actions, its hypocrisy, its “double standards,” the West clearly showed that its goal was not victory over communism, but victory over Russia, which presupposed the further dismemberment and destruction of Russia.
Thanks to the West for teaching the Russians such a cruel lesson, finally showing their true face - the FACE OF THE BEAST. Events in Ukraine, prepared from beginning to end by the West, clearly show Russia's future fate. When NATO locates its bases in Ukraine, then it will be Russia’s turn to become a victim of the next Orange Revolution, or rather, the White Ribbon Revolution.
The West in Ukraine, from the very formation of its “independence”, fooling people’s heads, positions itself as a defender of freedom, truth, honesty and integrity. Allegedly, only after getting rid of the communist legacy, after getting rid of the tutelage of totalitarian Russia, is it possible for Ukraine to flourish in the ranks of the EEC and NATO. Liberal propaganda is so strong that millions of Ukrainians are now unaware that they are simply being used as cannon fodder in the West’s fight against Russia. Ukrainians, zombified by Western propaganda, are no longer able to even simply compare the life of the people “before” and “after” the entry into the EEC of some former Soviet republics and countries of the socialist community - liberal lies blind the eyes and liquefy the brains!
"Bless your enemies." These words of Christ are a condition for survival in a hostile world. We must know and remember our enemies, and be grateful to our enemies for the fact that with their constant criticism they do not allow us to relax and serenely rest on the laurels of the successes achieved. Don't forget your enemies!
Enemy criticism is necessary to improve your views - the more your enemies scold and criticize you, the more confidence in the rightness of your cause should grow. But you cannot be led by hostile criticism and “sprinkle ashes on your head” with any accusation from the enemy. And it is clear that the less the enemy criticizes you, the more suspicion there should be that something is going wrong with you. And the more flattering words your enemies say about you, the worse your affairs actually are.
We must thank our enemies very much for their constant, stupid, inexorable hatred of Russia that does not subside even for a minute. After all, if they, having a little more intelligence, had even thought a little about the tactics of their lies, then Russia would have been doomed to disappear. All that was needed was to praise the Russian authorities as sweetly as possible, bribing everyone and everything, restructuring the order in the Russian house in every possible way in a liberal spirit, but so that this restructuring was not particularly noticeable to the people. It was necessary to add more “honey” to the anti-Russian cocktail so that the Russians would not suspect a trick.
And there was no need for our respected liberal “friends of Russia” to rush to “harvest the fruits” - they were not yet ripe enough. While corrupting Russian society, there was no need to rush into gay pride parades, for example—it was necessary to quietly and peacefully spread the views of the LGBT community to the population, and in five to ten years it would have “matured.”
There was no need to rush into admitting “splinters of the USSR” into NATO. It was necessary to quietly and peacefully reform the lives of people throughout the post-Soviet space in the spirit of “respect for human rights,” “good neighborliness” and tolerance.
Pretending to be a sheep is what the West has failed to do in the fight against Russia. Stingy with money, capitalist misers! They were so happy about the state treason that occurred at the very top of the USSR that they literally “choked on saliva with happiness.” And indeed, who would have thought that the many years of propaganda of liberalism in the “Evil Empire” would suddenly turn out to be so effective that the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee himself would become its victim.
And the algorithm for conducting anti-Russian propaganda was the most primitive. In the spirit of Dr. Goebbels, the liberal media constantly lied day after day, “plaguing the ears” of the Soviet people, that 1. In the West everything is very good and will be even better, 2. In the USSR everything is bad and will be even worse, and 3. The West - the enemy of communism, not Russia. And such a primitive brainwashed not only millions of “soviet people,” as one of the Russian intellectuals “successfully” put it, but also, as it turned out, the highest Soviet leadership - to such an extent that they were almost the first to believe in the holiness of the West and in the depravity of the Union.
And now we must bow deeply and thank, thank and bow to our enemies for their stupid haste in eliminating Russia. If it were not for their bestial hatred of everything Russian, we still would not have understood all the hostility of European civilization towards Russia. If our enemies had behaved more cunningly, the Russians would still not have known that they were doomed to extermination, and would continue to be foolishly moved by Europe and America.
Events in Kyiv and Ukraine clearly showed that the next target of the Orange revolutions would be Russia. Gentlemen liberals, we should have calculated more carefully. “Hurry is only needed when catching fleas,” as they say in Russia. And in Ukraine, you were clearly in a hurry, considering that “the client is ready” and Russia will not make a word, submissively putting its neck under your ax. Here you have miscalculated, gentlemen. Well, it turns out that you, gentlemen, liberals, are no strangers to stupidity either.
The tactics of constant lies and advertising of liberalism gave an excellent result for our enemies - the Soviet Union collapsed, the Warsaw Pact collapsed, truly, “the connection of times fell apart.” And such tactics, if they had continued for another ten to twenty years, supported by the “good participation” of our enemies in the lives of Russians, would automatically lead to the collapse and destruction of Russia.
But “appetite comes with eating”! What a blessing the destruction of the Soviet Union was for the Russian enemies - it truly turned the heads of all the scoundrels! And they began to recklessly, in a hurry, destroy the great legacy of Soviet power. The collapse of the economy, thieves' "privatization", the voucher scam, gangster lawlessness, "finally there is sex in Russia", nonentity in power, corrupt loudmouths in the squares, "poisonous bastards" in the liberal media - all these "fruits of freedom" helped Russians -take a new look at the “happiness” of being friends with the West.
Now the Russian people are getting rid of their most dangerous illusion - love for the West, freeing themselves from their delusion that Euro-America wants happiness for the Russians and Russia.
The Russians suddenly saw what fate the free, democratic, humane and progressive West had in store for them: “Moskalyak to Gilyak!” - it seems so. Like, there’s no need to unnecessarily scare the Russians just yet, “and then we’ll hang them later.” And in general, turning Russia into a nuclear desert is the cherished dream of the Maidan liberals. The enemy has fully revealed his bestial insides - “Russia to the Gilyak!”
How much longer would Russian liberal intellectuals fool Russians with their tales about kind Europeans and Americans supposedly dreaming of Russia’s well-being, if not for the Maidan. Now the Russians, the Russians, have clearly seen that Western liberals dream of only one thing - that the Russians with their damned Russia should not exist in the world.
Thank you, our irreconcilable enemies, for your honest hatred of Russia! Thank you for telling us honestly what awaits us in the very near future. We are grateful to you that your hatred of us has finally opened our eyes, ridding them of the liberal veil. Thank you for your hatred of us allowing us to know who is our true friend and who is our enemy.
Thank you that Russians have now recognized the fifth columnists in their country, echoing the spread of liberal fables. If it weren’t for you, our irreconcilable enemies, Russian liberals would still be fooling us with their verbiage.
Thank you, our enemies!
And in conclusion, it is necessary to say who personally is the enemy of the Russians, the Russians, Russia and in general all the peoples of the earth.
These are not Europeans, not Americans, not other peoples of the world, these are the liberal elites of all countries (including Russia): political, financial-economic, cultural-media. These are people who profess liberalism, servants of a liberal ideology that corrodes society, turns a person into a primitive consumer of material goods, destroys the person in person.
Liberalism, born in Europe with the denial of God and His morality in the Renaissance, is the cause of all the disasters of mankind in modern times, and now it has become the cause of a global systemic crisis, the cause of the extinction of indigenous European peoples, and the cause of a global environmental catastrophe.
Liberalism is the enemy of humanity because it is based on the cultivation of human egoism. He remains attractive to millions of people, misleading them with false promises, corrupting them with his call for freedom from observing any norms. Liberalism vilely deceives people, palming them off with material slavery under the banner of spiritual liberation. And liberalism will sooner or later subordinate any country to its values, not only Russia, but the whole world, if you do not oppose it with another, ALTERNATIVE to LIBERALISM, ideology.
It is impossible to defend against liberalism with prosperity and a high standard of living, missiles and nuclear weapons, much less overcome it, because the fight against it does not take place on the battlefield, not in the material sphere, but in the minds of every person. The destructive liberal idea can only be overcome by a creative idea. An idea can only be defeated by another idea, therefore, the sooner an alternative ideology to liberalism is formulated, the sooner universal peace will come to earth. This is where we need to start - there is simply no other way to save Russia!
Saints who are clear examples of love and virtue
Saint Andrew, who was mocked by passers-by, pushed and spat on, saw that the demons were writing down the names of his offenders. The holy fool began to pray fervently, thereby erasing these records. He said that he asked the Lord not to punish the offenders, because they do not understand what they are doing.
Tatiana
Another example of virtue and condescension towards enemies was shown by the holy martyr Tatiana. In response to her torment, she begged with prayers that the Lord would not punish her torturers, but would let them know the truth. After which the offenders saw Tatyana surrounded by four angels and realized how disgusting they had acted. They asked the Saint for forgiveness and thanks to her sincere prayer they became Christians.
Evfimy Zigaben
Art. 43-44 Hear, as it is said: Thou shalt love thy sincere man, and hate thy enemy. I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who attack you and drive you out.
Having eradicated, as it is said, anger and lust and freed those who obey Him from every destructive passion, He commanded to do good, giving to those who ask and borrowing from those in need; then, ascending higher, he elevated him to the heights of virtue. The crown and pinnacle of all virtue is love for enemies with its consequences - love for them not as enemies, but as people, and not only love, but also prayer for them. Love for enemies will be followed by everything else, namely, blessing of those who curse, charity of those who hate, and prayer for those who offend us. These are the properties of perfect love. See that the reward for such great virtue is the greatest. Since such an act is greater than any other, He provides a greater reward than any other. He says: That you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: as His sun shines on the evil and on the good, and rains on the righteous and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45).
Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.
What does the commandment “Love your enemy as yourself” mean?
What is the meaning of this commandment? Everything is very simple:
- If someone has offended you, do not curse this person and do not wish him harm.
- Respond to evil directed against you with good, no matter how difficult it is to do so.
- Pray for your enemies, so that the Lord will forgive them their sins.
- Remember that in life everything happens according to the boomerang principle. A stone thrown by you in someone's direction will come back to you.
- By directing your anger towards the person who has offended you, you subject not only him, but also yourself, to punishment from above. By not forgiving your grievances, you become as evil a person as your enemy.
- Only by sincerely praying to the Lord and asking him for forgiveness for those who offended you can you earn the kingdom of heaven.
The commandment is understandable at first glance, but in reality it is difficult to fulfill.
Why is forgiveness needed?
What is the essence of the Lord’s commandment, commanding you to do good deeds to those who hate you? How to stand up in prayer for those who have offended, stolen, insulted, killed? Why did Jesus give Christians this sometimes impossible task, the commandment to love the evil people who have hurt us?
Forgiveness from the heart is an important aspect of the Christian life.
It can be proven a hundred times that this is an impossible condition if Christ Himself had not become an example of love for those who crucified him, restoring the relationship between man and God at the cost of his earthly life and shed Blood. The tormented, bloodied Savior, whose hands and feet were nailed to death, asked the Father for forgiveness of those who mocked him.
To become children of God, you need to love the enemy, there is no other way, as the Bible writes (Matt. 5:43-45).
Hatred and malice began to rule the world; a couple of centuries ago, the great Nietzsche considered Christ’s commandment to treat enemies as a manifestation of cowardice and weakness, but life shows again and again that in order to survive, humanity must learn to love its persecutors.
Important! Forgiveness is an integral part of love. A person who does not know how to let go of resentment or anger will not be able to find even a particle of love in himself. Unforgiveness brings nothing but torment and suffering into people's lives.
Remaining a victim of injustice, attacked by a thirst for revenge, a person who has suffered from an enemy in the future destroys himself through the abundance of pain and anger in his heart. Even after experiencing humiliation and insult, one must forgive oneself in order to save oneself, especially if the offender comes with forgiveness and repentance.
The prodigal son took part of his inheritance while his father was alive, squandered his parents’ wealth acquired over the years, sank to the level of pigs, having a royal origin, after which he received not only forgiveness, the right to be called a royal son, but also power. Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what was done; forgiveness means that there are no barriers to love to start a new relationship and a new life.
Forgiveness is a central theme of the gospel
Burden and debt lose their power with forgiveness. Of course, you will never forget the death of a child under the wheels of a car, but with forgiveness, barriers to communication disappear. It is impossible to love a person who has hurt you without forgiveness and reconciliation.
Prayers:
- Prayer from enemies visible and invisible
- Prayer of repentance and forgiveness
- Orthodox prayer to calm the soul and body
Why is it so difficult for us to love our enemies?
The human soul is multifaceted, we can love and hate, forgive and punish, be kind and cruel, show our irritation and anger. Due to different circumstances, under the influence of different kinds of situations, we express our state of mind in different ways.
If the sun is shining around, the birds are singing, then your soul is light and calm. At such moments, you want to enjoy life and give kindness to everyone around you. But if something doesn’t work out, there are troubles at work and in the family, then we become irritable and are ready to take it out on the first person we meet. And if at such moments someone else shouts, pushes or is rude, then in response we behave in exactly the same way, responding with rudeness to rudeness.
Interpreters of this phrase clarify that loving enemies does not mean helping them in bad deeds
The phrase of Jesus Christ was analyzed in detail by Bishop Michael (Luzin). First, he clarifies who the enemy is and what types of love there are:
“Love your enemies. An enemy is someone who harms us in one way or another. There are two types of love for people: the first is disposition towards a person whose life and actions we approve of, who we like; the second is the disposition and desire for good to those whose lives and actions we do not approve, whose unkind actions towards us or others we oppose.
This last feeling is the love we should show to our enemies. It is impossible to love the actions of a person who causes us offense, harm, offends the laws of God and man, but we can, turning away from his actions, wish good for him, not repay him with evil for evil, help him in his needs and difficulties, do him a favor, wish eternal blessings to him (Rom. 12:17–20).
How can an ordinary person learn to forgive his enemies?
If you think about the meaning of the commandment, it becomes clear that in any situation you need to control your emotions. If each of us becomes just a little kinder and more tolerant, we can change the world for the better. Wars will stop, where people kill each other, brother betrays brother, son raises his hand against the parents who gave him life and raised him.
Revive love
There is another commandment of Christ, which says: “If you are hit on the cheek, turn the other one.” Never respond with anger to an insult; it is better to leave silently and let the anger burning in your soul cool down. Look at the current situation calmly, then maybe the offense will not seem as significant to you as at first glance.
If a person is somehow unpleasant to you, it is better to avoid communicating with him, but under no circumstances curse him, even in your heart. Any curse will come back to you as a disaster. Let's love and respect each other and ourselves. Let evil leave our lives forever.
Praying for enemies is the highest level of virtue
John Chrysostom writes that there are nine stages of virtue:
“The first degree is not to start offences;
second, when it has already been caused, do not repay equal evil to the offender;
third - not only not to do to the offender what you suffered from him, but also to remain calm;
fourth - to expose oneself to suffering;
fifth - to give more than what the offender wants to take;
sixth - do not hate him;
the seventh is to even love him; the eighth is to do good to him; the ninth is to pray to God for him.”
John Chrysostom
Archbishop of Constantinople
Lopukhin A.P.
Have you heard that it was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy?
The first sentence of the commandment is taken from Lev. 19:18; The second sentence: “hate your enemy” is not in the ancient Jewish law, and the Savior refers here either to the later decrees of Ezra, or to the decrees of the scribes, aimed at developing misanthropy among the Jews. Adversus omnes alios hostile odium - hostile hatred towards all others (Tacitus, Ist. 5:8) on the part of the Jews was well known to the then pagans, who themselves hated the Jews.
