"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; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven." Matt. 5:44, 45. These words were spoken by Christ Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. They were a strong directive to all who would follow in his footsteps. And he lived up to this command himself, for when the world's hatred and injustice hung him on a cross, surrounded by many who considered themselves his enemies, he prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34.
Most Christians desire to follow Jesus' example and learn to love those who would injure or have injured them through lies, theft, bodily harm, or other forms of victimization. But one thing often gets in the way: a well-developed sense of injustice. (In fact, television and radio talk shows today often feature people crying out against the injustices that have been done to them.) When victimized, we usually feel a great sense of wrong. A voice within cries, "This is not right. This person should be punished for what he (or she) has done to me. Why should I have to suffer this loss or pain? Where is justice?" And so we withhold our love from the perpetrator until we feel that justice has been served—that things have been made right.
What is the answer? We might believe that following Jesus' lead in these matters brings up a moral predicament in which we are asked to sacrifice justice in order to be loving.
