All of them – even the Political ones too.

 

One of the most memorable quotes from “Enders Game” by the Science fiction writer Orson Scot Card states that

 

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them…. I destroy them.”

 

Put in Scot Card’s words, the idea seems a little strange at first, however, it is reminiscent of Jesus’ famous injunction for us to love our enemies.

 

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Mt 5:44 AV)

 

And:

 

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,” (Lu 6:27 AV)

 

Jesus seems to have given us the impossible to do. We are to love our enemies and do good to those who seek to hurt us. Why would he give us this particular injunction? Simply put, Jesus understands the value of love and the danger of engaging hatred. This is especially important when we are confronting enemies whom we believe are bent on destroying us in all areas of our lives, especially in the current bitter political climate in which many of us find ourselves.

 

Orson Scot Card’s application of Jesus’ directive in the political sphere suggests that Love follows understanding. However, for the majority of the rest of us imperfect humans, love usually precedes understanding. If you love your enemy, you can get to know and understand him. When you understand him, you can then develop empathy, and it is then you can defeat him.

 

Nevertheless, Scot card’s argument is valuable because it establishes the relationship between understanding and loving others. This then equips us with the information we can use to defeat him or her. This is very true in political strategies.  Loving our political opponents means that we would pay attention to them, we would come to understand their viewpoints and their strategies and then learn to neutralize them, because we have come to know their weaknesses and strengths. We can use their strengths to our advantage and enhance their weaknesses in order to defeat them. We can make better judgment as to how best to respond to our enemies so as to mitigate their influences and possible harm which they can inflict on us. This, in fact, was how Ender was able to defeat the Hive Queen.

 

On the other hand, hatred is self-destructive. It shuts us off from our enemies. In the realm of the supercharged, hostile politics which characterizes today’s environment, the more animus we display to our political foes, the more we destroy our own causes. It has long been instinctively known that the animosity and bile we spew against our rivals speak more about us than the target of our odium. Those in our audience looking on come to their own conclusions about us and the ideas we are peddling as we seek to destroy our enemies and win verbal battles.

 

A frequent discussion my husband and I hold is this. If our neighbor stands at the top of our street and yells and screams at his or her opponent all day, every day, pretty soon the rest of us looking on will come to conclusions about that neighbor, not the target of his or her rancor. If the targeted neighbor resists being drawn into a two-way quarrel, we will all very rapidly come to despise the screaming neighbor. This holds true, even if the vocal neighbor had valid grievances, and the offender justly deserved the initial tirade.

 

So it is with hatred. It poisons the person who embraces it. It destroys his or her objectivity and fairness as it becomes all encompassing and devastating. Sure, we might be tempted to think that the target was all he or she was accused of, but after relentless attacks, pretty soon the attacker, and not the target becomes the problem to others. We might even begin to feel sympathy for the target of the hatred. The attacker will have lost his or her argument, and earned the rejection of the onlookers.

 

At more insidious moral levels, hatred eats at the soul of the individual who embraces it. This individual may shut out his opponent, fail to glean any useful information, and become vulnerable to the manipulations of his opponent. Hatred, like any other uncontrolled emotion, blinds the mind and results in stupid and irrational actions and reactions. It leads to self-destructive practices and more often than not damages the hater not the target.

 

When Jesus instructed us to love our enemies, He knew this very well. He knew that hatred would lead us to all kinds of negative words, thoughts, and actions. We would lose self-control and open ourselves up to demonic infestation and manipulation. Jesus also knew that Love, on the other hand, can help us to overcome those who would destroy us, while protecting us from the harmful consequences of our enemies’ actions. It can disarm them and win over our audience. Just as hatred can help us to lose our audience, love can encourage them to embrace our viewpoint as it increases our credibility and attractiveness. Our refusal to return evil for evil will enhance our reputation as worthy people and create interest in our strategies and counsels.

 

Though seeming impossible, Love of our enemies is very possible. The word “love” in the scripture references above is translated from the Greek word “agape”. This love is not a warm, fuzzy acceptance of another, but a more spiritual, godly seeking of the best welfare, or seeking the highest good for our enemies. Consider this for a moment. If we are seeking the best welfare of those who want to destroy us, perhaps understanding them and developing empathy for them might lead us to conclude that in order to put them out of their misery, we need to defeat them and render them harmless to themselves and others. Sometimes it may mean total annihilation. At other times it might require just getting out of their way and letting them be with whatever ills we think may be afflicting them. At other times, it might call for extending ourselves in an attempt to reach out to them in reconciliation. We will not know what is their best welfare unless we take the time out to love, understand and empathize with them.

 

Jesus left us no room for excuses to not love our enemies as we mature. After all, loving our enemies and doing good to them (if nothing else) will heap up coals of fire on their heads. This might satisfy those of us who still feel a tiny bit of need to be vengeful when all is said and done.

 

“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” (Ro 12:20 AV)

 

References

 

Card, Orson Scot, (1985) . Ender’s Game. New York. Torr Books.

 

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97512-in-the-moment-when-i-truly-understand-my-enemy-understand

 

Learn more about love and Spiritual Maturity at

Sproul, Wendy. 2017.
March to Maturity: Grounded and Built.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
North Charleston, South Carolina.