05/31/2020
How do we approach a poverty of faith? How do we claim God’s grace as it flows from Christ, when we are suffering from a loss inside our individual souls? These are issues swirling within something that I call “the dilemma of the enemy.” This is the mystery found in loving someone, or something, that by all rights should be our enemy. It occurs between us, and people, peoples, races, and nations, and yet when boiled down to its essence is particular to a man’s singular soul alone. Peoples, or groups, don’t have the ability to hate others, this larger manifestation comes from a single person giving in to hatred, and spreading that hate to another, and another, and another.
“So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings.”
Acts 24:16-17 ESV
The apostle Paul said these words as he defended himself before the Roman Governor Felix after being brought there by the high priest of the temple, Ananias, and being charged with starting riots among the Jews, and profaning the temple... neither of which were true of Paul, but both having occurred in regards to things that Paul had said which ignited a simmering conflict between men who called themselves Sadducees, and those who called themselves Pharisees. These groups of individuals were separated by their belief in the spiritual truth regarding resurrection, angels, and the Holy Spirit.
“For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.”
Acts 23:8-10 ESV
Disagreements between men become riots between peoples; this is nothing new, and has been an issue since man became men, and the “dilemma of the enemy”, which resides in each man’s individual soul, was translated into mobs, and riots, by the boiling rage of anger and hatred being brought to a boil by some catalyst.
“But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.””
Mark 15:11-14 ESV
So it was that the commandment to love thy neighbor fell apart before Pilot as the soul of each man present lost sight of it, and together they became frenzied by the desire for blood... not righteous blood, but the blood of wrath, and vengeance... stirred to a boil by priests with an agenda, and reacted to by many who didn’t even understand the reason behind their chants. Today we call this “Mob Mentality”, but it is an offshoot of the “dilemma of the enemy.”, or one man’s hatred being transferred like a virus.
Hatred spawns a poverty of faith because it is the antithesis of love, and it turns off the spigot of God’s grace to us in the process. We claim personal innocence because we seek to deny our role within the cloud, and chaos of the mob, but that isn’t achieved. God gave Moses the commandments, and they were not written for a nation, or a mob, but for each of us individually...
““You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
Exodus 20:7 ESV
And Jesus said it this way...
“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”
Matthew 22:34-38 ESV
You... it is a powerful Word, and removes our ability to deny personal responsibility; it extracts each individual from the mob and convicts them. Listen as Jesus speaks further...
“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””
Matthew 22:39-40 ESV
So who then do we hate? Did I hear you say “Them!”, well I understand that desire to make this impersonal, but which one of “Them” is it that we really hate, and is he or she not our neighbor? You say “Yes, but he is my enemy!”, and in response to this I turn once again to scripture...
““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, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48 ESV
Thus arises the “dilemma of the enemy.” We are told in scripture to love God, love our neighbors, and yes... love our enemies. Loving God is not very hard, He is our creator, and He loves us. Loving our neighbor can be difficult, but loving this person is still doable, however, how can we love our enemy who would do us harm, or even put us to death? How do we face this mysterious dilemma? Well we do it just as we do for God, and our neighbor.
First we need to realize that enemy is singular, and that we should start with one man, or one woman. Then we apply scripture. I love God with all my heart, mind soul, and strength. I love my neighbor as myself, and scripture also says that I should love my enemy in this way...
““But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”
Luke 6:27-31 ESV
Loving your enemy, this is perhaps the hardest of the three commandments that we have been given regarding love, and the most difficult for us to honor, because it is in our nature to strike back, and seek an eye for an eye! We often act in mobs to cover-up our responsibility to obey this commandment, and to cloud our culpability in sin when we fail at it, but the mob has no soul, only we, as individuals, have a soul, and when we sin we separate ourselves from God, damage the fabric of our soul, and turn off the spigot of grace that gives us peace.
So, here we are today, and mobs still abound, anger still rises, and souls still suffer as a result of them. There is no shortage of hatred, it surfaces in every conversation where opinions differ, and people hate, be these differences political, personal, religious, racial, National, worldly, or any other. So can we as individuals, can I as a single soul, find the answer to the “dilemma of the enemy” within me, and gain control over my own actions? Can I solve the dilemma of the enemy that struggles for control within me? Can I say no to the voices of the dark one that shouts out “Hate, Strike, Steal, Rob, Destroy, Murder”, or will my soul, and my heart suffer the loss of my righteousness? This isn’t a question for any Group of people, but for each of us individually. Are we ready to face the dilemma of the enemy within ourselves?
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the faith you have placed within me, and the ability to understand, and reconcile your Holy Word to my individual life. Open my eyes Father to my personal responsibility in working out my salvation, and my responsibility as it pertains to the sins I might embrace, or commit. Help me Father to overcome the voices of discord that seek to arouse me, and to hold firm to the love you intend to have dominion over me. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God of love, and peace, who quiets the chaos of the world within me. Praised be your name as you strengthen me against the beckoning of Satan to sin in the night against you, my neighbors, and my enemies. Strong is your Spirit in me that allows me to remain firm in my faith, and resist all impulses towards anger and hatred. Amazing is your grace, but sad is my soul when I have strayed, and can no longer feel its warmth. Have mercy on me Father, and hear the crying of my heart as I kneel before you humbled and seeking your forgiveness. Hear my pleas as I pray for the souls of those who don’t know your Son Jesus, or who are wooed by those who incite the mobs that roam the night. Have mercy on them Father, and lead them from the sin they practice to a true spirit of contrition, and desire for you. Calm the spirits of those who chase after justice which is not founded in your Word, and as they see the error of their ways, give their hearts rest in you... then set Your table before them.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23:5-6 ESV
Rich Forbes