Love Your Enemies

"It was Sam's first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace."
- J.R.R. Tolkien

          Many of you who know me will know that my favorite author is J. R. R. Tolkien. Aside from his ridiculously awesome style of writing, he also takes the time to inject meaningful themes into his writing. The quote above is possibly my favorite of his writing and I think it is a great way to introduce today’s topic, which is understanding your enemies.
          The Bible in, Matthew 5:44, speaks of loving your enemies. Even if you do not believe its writings are inspired, we can all take wisdom from this. Even the least confrontational of people gain a few enemies. Whether these enemies are on a board game, at work, or on a battlefield, we do the same thing to them—we de-humanize them. Think about it—suppose we do not even call these people “enemies.” Even if we simply dislike people, we tend to think less of them; to think of them as some sort of evil irritant sent to destroy our lives. 

          Now let’s elevate things: now this person is going to literally destroy your life. He has a gun and is pointing it at you. Is he still less of a person? Does the fact that he is going to kill you make things different—especially when you are pointing a similar gun right back at him? No. People have reasons for doing the things they do, even if they are simply misguided or delusional.
          Here’s another quote on the topic from Editha, by William Dean Howells. This dialogue occurs when Editha comes to tell her would-be mother-in-law that her son has died after Editha pushed him into joining the war:

"You just expected him to kill some one else, some of those foreigners, that weren't there because they had any say about it, but because they had to be there, poor wretches--conscripts, or whatever they call 'em. You thought it would be all right for my George, your George, to kill the sons of those miserable mothers and the husbands of those girls that you would never see the faces of. [ ... ] I thank my God he didn't live to do it! I thank my God they killed him first, and that he ain't livin' with their blood on his hands!" 

          So I challenge you this week to really try to understand those that might annoy you or insult you. I challenge you to try to understand those that fight our soldiers over-seas. Do we not look the same to those we dislike? Always remember that ignorance is our enemy above people.