LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.

Then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

REFLECTION

Rejection is a part of life that creates enemies. Even Christ was not spared from having a lot of enemies in His time. There will always be those who will hate you and will treat you as an enemy than a friend.

In the conduct of my business affairs in the past, I encountered an enemy who later on became one of my best friends.

One day, I received a call from a lawyer in my office, demanding that I settle an account with his client; otherwise he will bring me to court. He was very rude and arrogant and our conversation turned out to be a shouting match. In the end, I told him to do what he must do and I will refer the matter to my own lawyer.

His client filed a case against me and in the preliminary hearing; he really got into my nerves because he was such a liar! He was dominating the court and it seems that the judge favors his manifestations. I found out later that the judge was his classmate in law school.

I began to examine my resentment over this person. If I keep on fighting him, there is a good chance that I will loose the battle. The truth is we became enemies because he has to do his job and to him, this is not personal but for me it is. In the court, my lawyer was no match for his wit and glamour. He seems to know everybody and they were all very accommodating to him. Will it do me good to continue on hating him?

Then a whisper came, “Call Him”. I placed a call to his office and he was surprised that I am inviting him for a dinner. After giving it a thought, he agreed and we met. In our meeting, he was expecting that I would offer a compromise settlement to his client, only to find out that my intention is the opposite. I requested him to listen to my side and if he still thinks that I am at fault, then I understand that it is his job to protect his client. At the end of our meeting, I told him that when the case is over, I hope we can meet again, but this time, no longer as enemies but as friends. He just smiled at me and shook my hand.

The case continued but this time, he seems to allow the rebuttal of my lawyer, and I am beginning to acquire an upper hand in the case. At the end of one hearing, he approached me outside the court and told me that we should meet again.

We met and he began by saying that during our first meeting, he was not expecting that I will show him respect and courtesy, after all what he had done to me. The least he could do is to repay back the respect and courtesy. He found sincerity on my explanation and his client confessed that it was all true. Loosing a case is bad business for him, so he requested me to accept that before the final verdict, he shall withdraw the case filed against me by submitting an affidavit of desistance. He ended by saying that, “When this case is over, I shall take on your invitation that we meet again, no longer as enemies, but as friends”.

A promise is a promise. After he withdrew the case of his client against me, I place a call to him and invited him again for dinner. This time, we no longer talk about the case but more on our personal and professional background. I told him that his name sounds familiar to me and he told me that maybe it rings a bell because he was once a candidate for Senator. Wow! Now I know why this guy could be so arrogant and rude and seem to know everybody even in court.

He got surprised when I asked him, “Can you be my corporate lawyer?” He laughed loudly and said, “Why will you do such a thing after all that you have gone through with me?” I answered him, “At the time I felt that you really got into my nerves, that was the time I realize that you are truly a brilliant lawyer”. This became the start of a good friendship that will last until today.

My enemy became my best friend and he is now one of the Godfathers to my daughter. We both belong to the same Rotary Club and our families are very close to each other. He still acts as my corporate lawyer but he does not charge me a single penny. He often tells me that his professional service to me is his gift to my daughter whom he loves dearly.

God really works in mysterious ways. Loving your enemy can truly be “A Moment of Grace”.

Read: Luke 6:27-38