Loving one’s enemies can seem a tall order as commanded in Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-28 and other places in the Bible because it is one of the final steps toward spiritual maturity.
So say the Revs. Eddy Elliott and Albert Flores, who cite trying personal experiences in obeying with Jesus Christ’s call to rise above one of the most basic traits of human nature.
“I have turned the other cheek many a time, but I may not be as tolerant if someone is attacking my loved ones or the disadvantaged,” said the Rev. Elliott, pastor of Solid Rock Fellowship Out West. “That’s a different ballgame.
“We’re all broken people. Not one of us is going to get through a day without sinning in some form or fashion. I can love my enemies and minster to them. It’s an example of what Jesus has been doing with us all these years.”
Elliott said the Solid Rock Fellowship Out West has self-defense classes for children starting at age 7 so they won’t be afraid when confronted by bullies, but they’re also taught that it’s wrong to become bullies themselves.
“If a kid is turning the other cheek because he is scared to death, then his mama has raised a coward,” he said. “But if the kid has learned some self-defense skills and then decides to turn the other cheek, he has accomplished something.
“If a man can accomplish that aspect of his life, he is way up the spiritual ladder. Jesus is calling on us to be more like him.
“He said, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’ when they were the very ones who beat him and strung him up.”
The Rev. Flores, pastor of Victory Christian Fellowship, has graduated about 75 men from his program since 1990 for the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of alcohol- and drug-addicted men.
He has four men living in a bunkhouse behind his church, dining with his family, studying the Bible and working on their behavior now.
“Most have come from broken homes and we give them a home environment and keep an eye on them and the discipline,” Flores said. “We love them and go the second mile.
“Not too many people want to love those who are hard to love, but love is a powerful tool.”
Flores said it is human nature to be selfish and have little or no compassion for people who are homeless or addicted to alcohol or drugs.
Before the Rev. Freddy Garcia gave him similar attention and help in San Antonio in 1981, the pastor said, “I didn’t even love God.
“That was my sinful nature. We need to be like the Good Samaritan who helped the man who had been beaten and robbed when nobody else bothered to help him out.
“When you come to Jesus, he will give you his heart.”
Flores said uncaring people need to exchange their hearts of stone for hearts of flesh.
“Guys learn to love by your example,” he said. “They see you and they do the same.
“Love is an action word.”
