A few weeks ago, John and I entered a building being guarded by the Secret Service. A presidential candidate was scheduled to be there the same day, so agents were vetting everyone who came on site. The perimeter of the building was surrounded by black SUV’s and a K9 unit was in place to detect explosives. As I took in the scene, I wondered what it felt like to depend on a team of agents just to stay alive. These are the times we live in.
Thankfully, most of us will never experience the number of enemies a presidential candidate faces. Frankly, I don’t like to think about enemies. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have any. But we don’t live in a perfect world, and most of us will encounter people who for reasons beyond our control don’t like us, or perhaps even hate us.
The Bible has a lot to say about how God’s people are to respond to those who hate us. Hopefully, most of us have no enemies who intend on doing us bodily harm, but there’s a good chance we’ll encounter someone who is jealous, vindictive, or just doesn’t like us. As I write this, I know Christian people who are dealing with custody battles, lawsuits, property disputes, and malicious colleagues. Let’s face it, some people are mean.
As Christians, how do we respond?
By the end of his life, King David had earned his Ph.D. in dealing with people who hated him. In fact, David’s enemies hated him so much they wanted to kill him. Time and again David poured his heart out in the Psalms about the malicious people he dealt with day after day. David wrote Psalm 141 when his enemies were harassing him. It gives us at least five principles to keep in mind when dealing with people who don’t like us.
- Seek God’s Help. When David’s enemies caused him trouble his first response was to pray. It’s foolish to engage an enemy apart from prayer. Calling on God in prayer summons’ God’s resources and provision in the battle, rather than relying on our limited supply. David wrote, “O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!” (Psalm 141:1)
- Keep Yourself From Sin. In this case, David’s enemies were slandering him and he faced the temptation to stoop to their level in retaliation. But David didn’t take the bait and we shouldn’t either. He prayed, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil to busy myself with wicked deeds.” (Psalm 141:3-4a) We’ll never be able to control how other people act, but we get to choose how we respond.
- Accept Godly Counsel. We all have blind spots and God often sends people into our lives to provide us with instruction. We are fools if we refuse to listen. Their words might hurt our feelings, but godly counsel will always do us good, because it fosters maturity and spiritual growth. David acknowledged his need for counsel, “Let a righteous man strike me-it is a kindness, let him rebuke me- it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” (Psalm 141:5)
- Let God Judge Your Enemies. David knew the day was coming when God would judge his enemies and he would be vindicated. Until then, David relied on God for his provision and trusted He would deal with his enemies. (Psalm 141:6-6)
- Keep Walking In Faith. David had to choose between focusing on his enemies or keeping his eyes on God. He chose the latter. As we focus on God, He will provide us with the wisdom we need to deal with other people. “But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!” (Psalm 141:8)
I hope my enemies will be few and my friends will be many. I wish the same for you. But when we cross paths with someone who is bent on causing us trouble, we’ll be wise to respond like David. And, who knows? We might even turn an enemy into a friend.
