Love Your Enemies

Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


Sounds pretty clear to me, but yesterday's news of Osama bin Laden's death proves that this is a tricky commandment to follow. When Jesus said this, He didn't attach conditions. He didn't say, "Love your enemies, except for global terrorists." Granted, they didn't have global terrorists in 1st century Palestine, but you get the idea. Jesus called us to a difficult path. We are called to forgive those who hurt us. Watching the news last night with everyone celebrating, singing, and dancing in the streets...it saddened me. I understand and appreciate the excitement and joy that people feel, but I think it's misguided. From a practical standpoint, bin Laden's death does not mark the end of the war (though I wish it was that easy). We can't let our arrogence as Americans distract us from potential repercussions from al-Quaeda. It's our pride that's always been our downfall, and I saw a whole lot of that on tv last night.

But on a moral level, last night's celebrations disturbed me. Seeing the headline, "Osama bin Laden is dead"...I didn't even have a reaction. I just observed the reactions of others. All of these people who claim to be Christians, all these people who fight for the unborn and protest the existence of the death penalty...these people were celebrating the death of one man. This man did awful things, and no one denies that. He was responsible for a huge amount of sadness and pain for thousands, and even millions, of people. But how is his death more justified than a man who raped and killed teenage girls who now faces the death penalty? There are plenty of people who would protest that execution, but somehow feel that bin Laden's death is justified. To the families of the murdered teenage girls, I'm sure that they feel the same, if not more, pain than the American people with regard to the terrorist attacks.

So, what's the difference? Why can we rejoice over this death? The answer is that we can't. I can't. As a Christian and as a human being, I cannot rejoice over the death of a person and the end of a human life, no matter what heinous crimes that person committed. I am praying for Osama bin Laden. I am praying for God to give him mercy and grace and forgiveness. Most of all, I am praying for an end to war and violence. I am praying that we may grow closer together a global community and work together for a more peaceful future.

Osama bin Laden was a child of God, no matter what anyone else may say. Jesus died for him, and because of this, he was my brother. I grieve for his loss of life like I would grieve for anyone else's. Maybe I'm a little misguided because I haven't been "personally affected" by the 9/11 attacks. But am I not an American? Am I not a New Yorker? Did I not grieve with the rest of my country on that sad day? You don't have to be "personally affected" in order to be affected in a personal way.

My prayers for bin Laden are not some pretentious, holier-than-thou attempt to prove my moral superiority over those who proclaimed "Osama: Rot in Hell!" Instead, I am trying to live out my faith the best I can in the wake of modernity. I can't tell anyone else what to feel or how to react or what to believe. But I pray that this event opens up the doors for communication, dialogue, and a greater understanding of one another. I am deeply grateful for President Obama's remarks last night when he said that "we were never against Islam. Osama bin Laden was not a follower of Islam." Too often, people tragically equate bin Laden's crimes with spiritual laws of Islam, and I hope that we can all be more open to being educated in the future with regard to these matters. It's something that gives me a lot of passion and energy because one of the worst things to be in this world is ignorant when you have all the opportunities to not be.

So, I'll stop ranting. Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors...even if it might be the hardest thing you'll ever do.

Peace. السلام الآن