ENEMIES I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have any enemies.  I would like to be cordial and friendly towards everyone.  This, of course, is very idealistic and is not realistic at all.  A perfect God and a sinless Savior had and have enemies.  How much more-so will we who are not perfect have enemies?   It is very easy to have enemies.  All you have to do is take a stand.  The absolute God and the Son take absolute stands on spiritual and moral issues. Satan also chooses to take a stand in opposition to whatever God says or does.  If you are God’s child, you will also take a stand and that stand will be with your God.  You will acknowledge that God is right and everyone else is wrong (Rom. 3:4).   Today by far the majority of our  politically correct society are of a mindset to be in opposition to those who believe in  absolutes.  The politically correct want   everyone to be right and nobody to be wrong except for those who believe in    absolutes.  They are such kind and sensitive folks who insist upon building their lives upon the    uncertain and shifting sands of whatever feels right at the moment (Mt. 7: 24-27).  Christians do build their lives upon the absolute authority of Jesus Christ who has all power in both heaven and on earth   (Mt. 28:18).  Why should Christians give an allegiance to Christ and then wimp out on the uncertain and insecure sands of the   politically correct?  If you know better, isn’t more required of you to do what is right regardless of what this old world and the politically correct say? Christians know upfront that it will cost them something if they choose to take a stand with Christ.  “Yes, and all who    desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ” (2 Tim. 3:12).  This isn’t my favorite verse, but it is a verse that does tell me that it will cost me something if I take a stand with Jesus.  There is no “Pollyanna” Christianity here.  Fortunately, in America our persecution at this time is somewhat limited to the belittling and devaluing of our faith as is evidenced often even in the media.   Christians are given directions as to how to handle our enemies.  Jesus dIrects his people with his council, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” (Mt. 5:44).  There are several positive actions Christians are to take in dealing with their enemies.  When taken, these positive actions prevent us from   being lowered to their level.  This part of Christianity is very difficult; but with Christ’s example and His help, we can love, bless, do good, and pray positively for our enemies.  This action shows to ourselves and others that we are not what our enemies are (negative, disparaging, attacking, and mean).  Yes, this makes us extremely vulnerable.  To the Christian, however, the trust is in Christ who can, does, and will deliver us from our evils (Mt. 6:13).  In dealing with enemies, the Christian does not handle things in a worldly way of keeping score and getting even.  The Christian processes the attacks of the enemy by drawing closer to Christ.  In so doing the Christian who is tempted to get into the mud with their enemies is able to maintain their sweetness and joy because of Christ being in them.   The apostles who were sent by Christ to do His work were given no flowery bed of ease, and neither are we.  They were told, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.  But he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mt. 10:22).  Satan’s darts are thrown at us by our enemies.  Will we repel them with the power of the gospel — or will we allow Satan’s darts to get to us?   In the beatitudes Jesus concludes His eight blessings with, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt. 5:11, 12 compare   Lk. 6:22, 23).   Christians are no longer of this world as they have been transformed by Christ (Ro. 8:8, 9).  Christians are to no longer live the carnal, materialistic, worldly ways they did in the past.  We do not love the world or the things in this world the way we did in the past (1 Jn. 2:15-16).  Christians learn that taking a stand with  Jesus automatically forces them to take a stand against the values and thinking of this world.  This world with its values and thinking become secondary or submissive to the higher standard of Christ and the gospel.   Because we are serious about following Christ, we learn from our Lord what He experienced in this world and know what we in Christ should expect.  “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (Jn.15:18-19).  Jesus goes on to say in his prayer in John 17:14-16, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Christians are to love their enemies as Christ loved us when we were His enemies living in rebellion and sin.