Forgiveness How Do We Treat Our Enemies

One of the greatest hindrances to prayer is how we treat difficult people. The world is full of individuals whose lives are in shambles. These people are often hateful and full of hatred. Every one of us has enemies that look for ways to make us miserable. They probably tell lies on us or misrepresent and distort the truth. There are many people in the church that have allowed roots of bitterness, jealousy, strife, or some other negative emotion to grip them. These dear souls can affect the whole church.

How do we treat one another with the different emotions we all feel and experience? Jesus taught us to forgive and based His forgiveness to us according to our forgiveness of others. You cannot be forgiven unless you have nurtured a forgiving spirit in your own heart. Peter asked Jesus a powerful question and the Lord gave him a powerful answer, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (St. Matthew 18:21-22)

The Lord’s Prayer taught us, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (St. Matthew 6:12, 14-15)

Recently, I had a troubling experience that left me terribly injured in my emotions. The man was wrong and devious, and I knew it. The emotions of that experience left me wounded for weeks. Early one morning, I prevailed with God or maybe better, "God’s spirit prevailed in me" and broke the power of my feeling toward the situation. It was a glorious moment of being freshly sanctified by the Blood of Jesus–cleansed and set free to utterly forgive without one negative feeling left. I was free and the person was totally forgiven. That’s what God wants to do regularly in all our lives.

Nothing hinders "soul winning" like resentful feelings toward sinners. Sinners have another master, a master who is a master of destruction. Quit helping the devil destroy his captives by being unforgiving to them. Not one of us should ever hold feelings of resentment, anger, etc., toward a lost person. They may be your worst enemies, but pray for them until your soul knows nothing but love for their soul. David said that ungodly men are God’s "hand" or "sword" to prove our character and to chasten us as "His children of righteousness." (Psalm 17) How you treat the ungodly is a great sign of where you are in Christian maturity.