2 Kings 23-25 is actually a weirdly funny story. Elisha was walking his way when some children were making fun of his bald head. He called down a curse from heaven and two bears came and devoured the children.
This story as well as “those you bless will be blessed and those you curse will be cursed” was something I heard growing up and it was and is used by many Christians to curse their enemies.
I find this to be increasingly strange because of Jesus’ sermon on the mount.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48 NIV
Jesus is asking us here not only to pray for our enemies but to love them. And we all know the 1 Corinthians 13 definition of love.
That is a lot to do for someone who treats us like trash. But thinking about it that’s not so bad. Enemies are the best vehicle for improvement, trust me.
When an enemy opposes you, you run to God in ways that you would otherwise not have done and by so doing, you begin to reap many benefits. The adversities I faced in my second year room is what motivated me to even start a blog in the first place.
People will treat you in horrible ways, sometimes because they don’t know any better, other times because they’re hurt and most of the time because the devil uses them.
It is important to forgive and move on not just for yourself, but for them and above all for Jesus as well. When you pray for them, they may be changed and in their change can be vessels of God’s glory.
Raining down curses from heaven does not contribute to the kingdom of God in any way. We must learn to love like Jesus did. We need to learn to let go of the hurt because it tends to hold us back.
“Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”
James 3:10 NIV
When I got knocked down by the car, I spent my energy and focus on getting better and really it saved me lots of trouble. Imagine if I spent my time trying to get revenge.
Instead of going to church to hammer your enemies and clapping your hands to slap them, let’s pray for them to be saved.
The Millennial Christian 