How to love our enemies

We know that the Bible tells us to love our enemies and admit it, it's not easy. How can you love someone you despise with every fiber of your being.

But I say to you, 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 Mat 5:44

Well I have news for you. The original Greek translation of the word "love" there is ag-ap-ah'-o and not agape (affection or benevolence). This agapeo means, to love in a social or moral sense or for short, be civil.

The reason why I'm telling you this is because I want to post this article here and I find it very helpful.

Wishing our enemies good fortune
By: Ruby Bayan-Gagelonia

Wishing our enemies good fortune – it doesn't sound logical. But if we think about why our enemies are our enemies, it's easy to figure out that if they were in a better place, we would have less of them in our lives.

Here are examples of enemies that supply us with our daily dose of grief, and how wishing them well would be the best for us:

1. The Envious

These are our neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances who come close to coveting everything we own. They're not necessarily under-privileged, they just have this compulsion to look over the fence and believe that the grass is always greener at our side. They become our enemies when they bad-mouth us, undermine our efforts to succeed, or literally get in the way of our paths to achieving our personal goals.

Our natural reaction is tit-for-tat: to equally bad-mouth them, undermine their efforts to succeed, and get in the way of their reaching their goals. The vicious cycle feeds the "we're enemies" atmosphere, and counter productivity prevails all around and all the time.

An option worth considering is the "good wishes strategy." If we wish these envious folks something to be proud of, like a promotion, a lottery win, or success in their personal endeavors, they will realize that they are better off than we are, which will make them friendly towards us, the "less" fortunate. If we can help them become more successful, we not only make new friends, we also help improve the quality of life around us.

2. The Intruder

We all have our own versions of the intruder stereotype in our lives. These could be our in-laws, ex-spouses, step-relatives, nosy neighbors, and fair-weather friends. They enjoy meddling in your affairs, throwing us off our game plan, distracting us from our dreams.

Instead of the natural reaction to contradict, reject, and wage war on these intruders, how about praying for all good things to happen to them? Not in a million years? Well, consider this: if your in-laws found a good retirement community in Miami, if your ex finally hooked up with her long-lost soul mate, if your mean step-son found a high-paying job in Alaska, if your nosy neighbors and fair-weather friends became rich and successful enough to move to the big city, wouldn't your life be more peaceful?

3. The Angry-Because-It's-Half-Empty

They say that we should stay away from loud, aggressive, and negative-minded people because they ruin our day, dampen our spirits, and skew our perspectives with their constant "life-sucks-the-sky-is-falling-we'll-never-make-it" attitude. They are the natural enemies of our health and happiness.

We meet these people everyday: the reckless driver, the hotheaded screaming boss, the nasty goons down the block, and the vicious malicious stranger, acquaintance, or customer.

It's so easy to raise an argument, scream a fit, or swing a fist. But that would only put us in the same grief and misery they're in. So, how do we wish them well? By walking away and secretly wishing that they see the folly of their ways, that they run into loving partners and meaningful jobs, and that they find themselves in countless experiences that prove to them that life isn't all bad.

When I think about it, we wish ourselves, our friends and loved ones all the good things in life so that we can all be happy. If we wish the same good things to our enemies, they, too, can be happy, and either find their own distant paths or walk with us as our friends.

That makes perfect sense to me.

Source: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3599/111678