Bible Summary:

Jesus tells the crowd at the Sermon on the Mount to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. He says God makes sun and rain fall on good and bad people alike so we must become perfect and love everyone too.

My Thoughts:

Non-Violence Training: Jesus continues his non-violence training by going beyond the thought of not seeking revenge to actually loving your enemies. A small group of people cannot change the belief of the majority by force, but has a good chance by following the ways of Jesus.

Love Your Enemies: Now that is a hard pill to swallow. How can you love your enemy when they are causing you grief? Think how angry we get when someone cuts us off on the highway. But, loving your enemy is the only long-term solution. Retaliation causes retaliation and escalation. Instead, look for common ground with your enemy. Find something to talk about. Try to compliment them. The best scenario is to turn them into a friend, then you no longer have an enemy.

Flipping the Lens on Stereotyping: We should be very careful not to stereotype people because of the actions of a few. It was real easy to think badly about all Muslims because of a few extremists who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, but most Muslims are actually very nice, Godly (“Allah” to them) people. Their religion also comes from Abraham and teaches their faithful to believe in Jesus as a messenger of God.