Dealing with Enemies

By Matts Wilcoxen, 9th grade

Question

How do you deal with enemies?

Answer

One of the biggest challenges that you can face in high school is dealing with your enemies. But sometimes the best lessons you will learn come from doing something that you do not want to do. Throughout the Bible, many biblical characters deal with their enemies every day. They are often faced with the threat of death or persecution. This may not seem to relate to a problem you are having with a classmate, but the same principles they used can be applied to situations you may face.

Look at David, the shepherd boy who defeated Goliath. Saul was hunting David for days and nights because he thought David was going to take over his kingdom. David didn't want to have to confront Saul and hurt him. But Saul was persistent; he was going to do everything he could to find and kill David.

One night David came upon Saul sleeping. The Bible tells us, "And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily" (1 Sam 24:4 KJV).

David had two choices: he could kill Saul and not worry about him hunting him any more, or he could spare his life -- essentially, forgive him. David chose to do the right thing: he did not hurt him, but spared his life. Later, Saul realizes that David could have killed him but did not. Saul then realizes he is at fault and is sorry for what he did.

This applies to our everyday lives as well. When we have someone who is trying to hurt us or is not being kind, we also have two choices: we can be angry at the person and become his enemy, or we can love him and not condemn him. David recognized and acknowledged that God had been saving him: "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence" (2 Sam 22:1-3).

God saves us from our enemies and guides us to do the right thing. These are definite reasons to be grateful. If we place all of our trust in God, we will be able to make the right decisions even when we feel as though we have every right to be bitter. We need to be merciful and not think of them as our enemies, but trust in God to protect us. That trust is what enables us to be merciful and kind to anyone and everyone -- even our enemies.

So when we are faced with a difficult situation where we see others as our enemies, we are faced with two choices. We can take the easier, yet juvenile path, of seeing them as our enemies, or we can take the more difficult, more mature, and more rewarding path of seeing them as perfect children of God. When we see them this way, we have no enemies.