Pray for Those Who Persecute You

Pray for Those Who Persecute You

“Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” – Jesus Christ, Luke 6:28

I’m like every other human being: there are people in this world that I have a hard time loving. They evoke emotions of disagreement, dislike, disdain, disgust, and potentially hate. The root is generally because they’ve hurt me or someone I love, or because they hold an opinion I disagree with, or because they are just plain offensive and destructive to others. They are people whom I view as not making the world a better place. So, how is it that I can obey Christ’s command to love, bless, and pray for them. And why?

First, I must humbly recognize that what they are to me, I am to someone else. Jesus teaches that those who hold a prejudice or judgement against someone else need to turn the mirror on themselves. When we are critical of a tiny thing in someone else, chances are good that that same thing exists in us on a larger scale. A splinter is a small piece of wood and a log is a bigger piece of wood. I don’t believe Jesus used two things of the same substance to make his point in Matthew 7:15. How can I be mad at someone else when I have the same shortcoming? I was upset recently about someone huffing in a slow checkout at the grocery store. Surely, I have huffed in a checkout line before. I was heartbroken over a friend standing me up, but then thought about how I recently forgot about an appointment I had with another person. We could go on and on….

Second, there is a benefit for ourselves. God created us to be in love relationship with God and others. We are wired to flourish when we connect in life-giving ways with others. When we hold grudges, foster feelings of revenge and retaliation or let our negative thinking about others spin out of control, we are diminishing our own life. When I pray for someone I hate, a miracle happens. I begin to see them as human with needs and desires just like I have. Where a bitter root had been forming, seeds of compassion, love, and mercy are planted. Compassion, love, and mercy lead to empathy and an openness to understand the other person. When I am open to understanding them, I learn. When I learn, I grow in the way God created me. I become closer to God and others. This is God’s plan for all of us. This is the secret to a rich and purposeful life!

Show me someone who is happy with the increased hate crimes and violence inflicted on innocents in our country. Who is satisfied that our country is essentially split down the middle on important issues with the space between filled with bullying, scorn, criticism, prejudice, and even rage? Who likes the rise of blood-spattering battles over statues, walls, and guns? When there are two sides who are just as unwaveringly passionate about their point of view as the other…is it possible that half of America is totally right and half is totally wrong? No! If we pray for the person we disagree with, and try to put ourselves in their shoes, our eyes will be opened and we will gain a deeper wisdom.

So, pray for that government leader, that political candidate, that climate activist, that white supremacist, that neighbor, that teacher, that coach, that relative….yes, even that huffing mad person in the check-out line. I promise your life will be better for it, and you will make the world a better place.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner beings, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s hold people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” – Ephesians 3:17-19

(Painting: Unity by Diane French)