“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”

Like so much of what Solomon writes, this is certainly not conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom would tell us that if your enemy is hungry or thirsty, let them starve or get dehydrated. At the very least, it would say let them figure it out for themselves. But Solomon in Proverbs, as well as Jesus in the New Testament, flips that kind of thinking on its head. As a result, though it may battle everything within us, when we are obedient the results can be astonishing and powerful. Lives can be changed. And in the end, we often find our own lives being changed for the better. Obviously, obeying Scripture will have that effect. Too often we listen to our emotions and never give God’s truth the opportunity to teach us a new and better way. Maturity in Christ involves learning God’s commands and then obeying them. It is at that time that we begin to see Him work miraculously in our hearts and emotions, as well as in the hearts of others who are impacted by our obedience. This is a good time to pull out your “enemies list” and let God’s Spirit go to work on. Maybe there’s someone there you need to call and chat with. Perhaps there’s even someone you need to have coffee or a meal with. One of my goals at my age is to shorten that list dramatically and hopefully work it down to zero by the time I’m called home. Today, review your list, pray for the person, and then perhaps make a call. #BeTheEdge

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” — Jesus.