The Enemy
enemy: n 1: an opposing military force; "the enemy attacked at dawn" 2: an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force); "a soldier must be prepared to kill his enemies" [syn: foe, foeman, opposition] 3: any hostile group of people; "he viewed lawyers as the real enemy" 4: a personal enemy; "they had been political foes for years" [syn: foe] [ant: ally]
Jesus has commanded us to love our enemies as we love ourselves, and as 'commands' go, we are left with hardly any choice but to obey. It's not one of the most likeable commandments in the Bible because it compels us to go against our very nature and rebel against, what I consider, our raw instincts. Our most natural response to our 'enemy' (whatever or whoever that may be) is either revenge, hatred or calculated indifference. Loving the 'enemy' never figures as one of the tasks that we would most like to do. And yet, the Lord has commanded us to do just that.
Our idea of an 'enemy' is usually quite narrow. It mostly involves those who reside within our geographical space or who have had the misfortune of colliding with us in areas we call home, office and the physical neighbourhood. In such a situation, the 'enemy' (for want of a better word) has a name, an address and a history of bitterness that has coloured the enmity. In some cases, this enmity is handed down from generation to generation and becomes a feud whereby the hatred seeps into one's psyche, enters the local folklore, and settles in like dew drop over a moist and willing surface.
But this is not the kind of 'enemy' that I want to talk about over here. The 'enemy' I want to discuss is far more sinister and is armed with the capability to cripple us emotionally, intellectually and, sometimes, even physically. This enemy resides in our mind and makes an appearance whenever we are biased and show some form of prejudice against those of a particular ethnic, linguistic or religious group.
Of course, I can hear you say, we are a bunch of educated and enlightened people and all this does not apply to us. Our privileged background makes talk of enemies and feuds completely irrelevant, right. Think again. There's a war on terror going on, terrorists going berserk with their bombings and the battlefield is not just out there on the streets but in our minds as well.
A close analysis of the problem makes it clear that the 'enemy' that both the parties in the conflict are talking about is an 'idea'. And when I use the word 'idea', I am not referring to it as something civilisational that's allowing this clash to occur but something that borders on the mythical. Think again and look around. What seems to be the popular definition for an enemy these days? On one side of the conflict, anyone with a 'muslim' name, a long, unkempt beard and a fanatical observance of the Islamic tenets is suspect. And then, on the other side of the fence, anyone who represents the so-called decadent 'west', has an infidel origin or has a Jewish parentage is seen to deserve death.
It's obvious that the 'enemy' in both these cases is a mythical creature and is 'lovingly' nurtured on a diet of deliberate generalisations. The 'enemy' is expected to conform to a certain stereotype and all those people who, somehow, fall under the parametres created are assumed to be 'evil'. No effort is made to get to know the people from the other side because it is felt that there is no point in doing so. Evil doers rarely change and, hence, there is no need to develop personal ties with them.
No wonder, people from both sides of the conflict find comfort in such myths. Myths are easy because one can fashion the 'enemy' according to one's imagination and expectations. There is no hard work involved in getting to know people, their names, their backgrounds, their eating habits, their likes and dislikes, their eccentricities, and other peculiarities that go into making them human.
The general consensus is that the 'enemy' is less than human and, hence, it is felt that one can safely do away with all the niceties with them and so as a first step, the 'enemy' is de-personalised. All personality identifying markers are ignored and only the worst aspects of the stereotype are projected as the defining attributes of these 'enemies'.
What should be our response to all this? How are we to apply Jesus' commandment in a political and social environment where the 'enemy' is not clearly defined but remains only an idea?
The simple answer would be, yes, we will continue to love our enemies and make a serious effort in developing a personal relationship with them. But it's not that easy. We have been trained, since birth, to depend upon generalisations while making conclusions about various people and cultural groups and it's hard to make a sudden paradigm shift. However, this is where the gospel of repentance becomes that much more relevant. Repentance or 'metanoia' (the original Greek word) means 'having a new mind' and that's exactly what we need to do when faced with people of different (and opposing) groups.
We need to love these enemies as we would love ourselves by seeing them as human beings with a personality of their own, posessing a social and cultural background and having friends and family in their social orbit. We need to sit down and break bread with them and develop an understanding of their likes and dislikes. We must try and see them as people who are just like ourselves with the right to have an attitude as well as the right to suffer internal conflicts and other assorted hang-ups.
We have no choice. We need to do it this way because it would help us to love them and understand them, and make them cease to be our enemies.
Jesus has commanded us to love our enemies as we love ourselves, and as 'commands' go, we are left with hardly any choice but to obey. It's not one of the most likeable commandments in the Bible because it compels us to go against our very nature and rebel against, what I consider, our raw instincts. Our most natural response to our 'enemy' (whatever or whoever that may be) is either revenge, hatred or calculated indifference. Loving the 'enemy' never figures as one of the tasks that we would most like to do. And yet, the Lord has commanded us to do just that.
Our idea of an 'enemy' is usually quite narrow. It mostly involves those who reside within our geographical space or who have had the misfortune of colliding with us in areas we call home, office and the physical neighbourhood. In such a situation, the 'enemy' (for want of a better word) has a name, an address and a history of bitterness that has coloured the enmity. In some cases, this enmity is handed down from generation to generation and becomes a feud whereby the hatred seeps into one's psyche, enters the local folklore, and settles in like dew drop over a moist and willing surface.
But this is not the kind of 'enemy' that I want to talk about over here. The 'enemy' I want to discuss is far more sinister and is armed with the capability to cripple us emotionally, intellectually and, sometimes, even physically. This enemy resides in our mind and makes an appearance whenever we are biased and show some form of prejudice against those of a particular ethnic, linguistic or religious group.
Of course, I can hear you say, we are a bunch of educated and enlightened people and all this does not apply to us. Our privileged background makes talk of enemies and feuds completely irrelevant, right. Think again. There's a war on terror going on, terrorists going berserk with their bombings and the battlefield is not just out there on the streets but in our minds as well.
A close analysis of the problem makes it clear that the 'enemy' that both the parties in the conflict are talking about is an 'idea'. And when I use the word 'idea', I am not referring to it as something civilisational that's allowing this clash to occur but something that borders on the mythical. Think again and look around. What seems to be the popular definition for an enemy these days? On one side of the conflict, anyone with a 'muslim' name, a long, unkempt beard and a fanatical observance of the Islamic tenets is suspect. And then, on the other side of the fence, anyone who represents the so-called decadent 'west', has an infidel origin or has a Jewish parentage is seen to deserve death.
It's obvious that the 'enemy' in both these cases is a mythical creature and is 'lovingly' nurtured on a diet of deliberate generalisations. The 'enemy' is expected to conform to a certain stereotype and all those people who, somehow, fall under the parametres created are assumed to be 'evil'. No effort is made to get to know the people from the other side because it is felt that there is no point in doing so. Evil doers rarely change and, hence, there is no need to develop personal ties with them.
No wonder, people from both sides of the conflict find comfort in such myths. Myths are easy because one can fashion the 'enemy' according to one's imagination and expectations. There is no hard work involved in getting to know people, their names, their backgrounds, their eating habits, their likes and dislikes, their eccentricities, and other peculiarities that go into making them human.
The general consensus is that the 'enemy' is less than human and, hence, it is felt that one can safely do away with all the niceties with them and so as a first step, the 'enemy' is de-personalised. All personality identifying markers are ignored and only the worst aspects of the stereotype are projected as the defining attributes of these 'enemies'.
What should be our response to all this? How are we to apply Jesus' commandment in a political and social environment where the 'enemy' is not clearly defined but remains only an idea?
The simple answer would be, yes, we will continue to love our enemies and make a serious effort in developing a personal relationship with them. But it's not that easy. We have been trained, since birth, to depend upon generalisations while making conclusions about various people and cultural groups and it's hard to make a sudden paradigm shift. However, this is where the gospel of repentance becomes that much more relevant. Repentance or 'metanoia' (the original Greek word) means 'having a new mind' and that's exactly what we need to do when faced with people of different (and opposing) groups.
We need to love these enemies as we would love ourselves by seeing them as human beings with a personality of their own, posessing a social and cultural background and having friends and family in their social orbit. We need to sit down and break bread with them and develop an understanding of their likes and dislikes. We must try and see them as people who are just like ourselves with the right to have an attitude as well as the right to suffer internal conflicts and other assorted hang-ups.
We have no choice. We need to do it this way because it would help us to love them and understand them, and make them cease to be our enemies.
Comments