My Good Enemy - Christianity Today

In the Third Psalm, David begged God, “Strike all my enemies on the jaw!” (3:7, NIV). It probably didn’t matter to David whether the Lord used a right hook or a left jab. He just wanted his enemies done in. After more than three decades in ministry, I confess that David-like prayers for retribution have sometimes spewed from my mouth.

My suggested methods for the Lord’s vengeance have been just as creative as the psalmist’s. I’ve hoped some of my more vicious antagonists wouldn’t survive surgery and that others’ boats would sink a thousand miles from shore. For others, a quiet demise in the middle of the night would have satisfied me. These admissions would likely shock some of my friends–even some of my enemies. In fact, they shame me, even though I know that everyone in ministry struggles with the antics and attacks of enemies.

Surprisingly, though, now that I approach three-score years, I am beginning to appreciate my enemies. The Lord is even bringing me to a conviction that enemies are good for us. I’d like to explain what brought me, much too late, to this conclusion.

ENEMIES CAN BE RIGHT

One longtime adversary was also unpopular with the majority of the congregation. I considered him power-hungry, childish, and socially inept, which gave me adequate grounds, I felt, to count him as my foe. He once headed an attempt to get me fired, publicly accusing me of unorthodox teaching. The attempted coup fizzled, but his attacks never stopped for a period of about twenty years. We made attempts at friendship, but none were very successful.

During one of the more peaceful periods, this man came to my office offering help. He had done graduate work in logic and felt he could help me with my sermon preparation. Stating that I didn’t usually follow a logical, understandable outline in my sermons, he offered to teach me a better way. Picturing myself being taught by this pompous, overbearing misfit, I declined, while taking consolation in the numerous compliments I received each Sunday. Some time later my adversary-brother began attending another church. I hardly felt sorry. In fact, I sighed in great relief.

A few years have passed. My wife and I have now moved, and because there is a severe shortage of ministers in our area, I’ve been invited to fill the pulpit at different churches. With short notice, I’ve sometimes been forced to pull old sermons out of the file and adapt them to my new audiences. So I’ve reviewed numerous homilies prepared over the last five years of my previous ministry.

Guess what? My enemy had been right about the lack of logical sequence in my sermons. Often my conclusions failed to connect with my introductions. I didn’t always clearly state a theme that gave unity to my discourse. Now, pulling those sermons out of the file, I’m forced to rework and simplify.

I need to tell my old enemy he was correct in his criticism. My preaching might have improved to God’s glory and to the strengthening of the church had I gulped down my pride and listened to him.

ENEMIES CAN CLARIFY OUR BELIEFS

I came out of school with numerous unanswered questions. I still have many, and unless I change radically, I will always have some doubts. However, certain unanswered questions should not be raised in a manner that creates doubt for those whose faith is fragile. Paul cautioned us in Romans 14:13 about putting stumbling blocks in the way of weak Christians. Yet as a young minister I publicly voiced many doubts, not thinking about the effect this might have on my hearers. At the time, I thought the ability to raise such questions placed me among the intelligentsia.

One older woman in the church, well-versed in Scripture, hearing me voice these doubts, went to the elders with concerns about my theology. She was our son’s favorite Bible school teacher, loving but candid. Soon she, the elders, and I sat down to discuss my views and their effects. At the time I considered this woman a critical enemy. I later learned of her great love for the Lord, for my family, and for me. By her directness she forced me to clarify my beliefs and to find positive, encouraging ways to preach them. She has been dead for more than a decade, but I still thank God for her courageous honesty.

ENEMIES CAN STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH

I ministered for twenty-eight years in one church. The majority of elders supported most of what I did, but one vocal dissenter vehemently resisted me for the first few years. He disagreed so forcefully that I once overheard him exclaim from the nearby elders’ meeting room, “Bob just doesn’t HAVE it!” Honestly, I wasn’t eavesdropping; he just shouted it that loudly. He never told me what it was about my preaching that he didn’t like, though he gave me a book of sermons delivered by one of his favorite old-time preachers. I never preached one of those sermons, nor did this elder relent in his opposition. I often felt his approach to me was demeaning and insulting.

Two things kept me from reacting vindictively. First, Jesus taught us to love our enemies. Second, I wasn’t prepared to have my wife and children supported by an unemployed preacher. So I blessed my elder-enemy. I wish I could say the first reason was the prevailing one.

Two later occurrences verified the benefits of following Jesus’ advice. One took place about five years into our term with the church when the elders conducted my annual job review. The vote remained the same, but my adversary met me in the parking lot a few days later and said, “Bob, I want you to know that, as far as I’m concerned, you can stay with the church as long as you want.” About ten years later came an even greater surprise. This same man urged the church board to give us a substantial gift, a largess at which we still marvel. These things taught us that Jesus sometimes rewards us when we follow his instruction, even though we may struggle to do it with good feelings.

WHO CAN TAKE CARE OF ENEMIES?

All of us in ministry know that Jesus taught us to love our enemies and to pray for those who spitefully use us. That well-known teaching always became the basis for my sermons when people misunderstood me or were upset with me. But I deserved righteous indignation and anger when others offended me. In other words, I presumed innocence for myself. When I was guiltless and under fiery trial, that’s when I implored God most vigorously for his swift retribution.

But dealing with my enemies over the years has opened me to a crucial truth: If we let him, the Lord takes much better care of our foes than we ever could. We can accept his way as the best way. The Lord has indeed righted the wrongs on more than one occasion, but this leaves me not with a sense of “Wow, Lord, you really popped him a good one!” Rather, it makes me feel sad when a fellow human being experiences the painful results of disobeying God. It also puts me in awe of God and the truth of his Word.

It’s arrogant of me to think that the Lord does all this merely to protect me and my feelings. On the other hand, it is extremely comforting to know that all of God’s Word is true and dependable, even those parts that seem unreasonable, such as “Love your enemies.”

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Robert Blair is a retired minister living in Cleghorn, Iowa.

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