“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.”
– Matthew 5:43-45
As we wrap up our discussion about being anti-fragile in the next couple of days, I want to share with you a few practical things you can do to become a more resilient person and hopefully increase anti-fragility in your daily life and in your walk with God. First of all, you have to take some hits. If you’ve been playing it safe for awhile, you need to put yourself in a position to be stretched, even if it’s to the point of pain. Taking a few punches for the sake of growth can and should become a regular part of your life’s rhythm and routine. However, in the midst of these growing seasons, don’t forget to rest; you need to have at least one day of the week where you get a break from the rigor of the routine! Secondly, you need to love your enemies. The world says to criticize, slander, lie about, hurt, and harm your enemies. However, this is not a Christian thing to do; it simply isn’t becoming of someone who lives in Jesus. Abraham Lincoln once said, “I defeat my enemies by making them my friends,” and this is exactly what it’s about. When you practice what Dallas Willard called Spiritual jiu jitsu, you begin to love those who wrong you because you have pity and compassion for them. As you pray for those who harm you, asking God to turn their hearts and make them better, you learn how to truly love your enemies and your life becomes more peaceful and less worrisome. Friend, seek to become anti-fragile by taking on challenges and things that stretch you, particularly the seemingly difficult task of loving your enemies. Though it doesn’t feel natural and will require getting out of your comfort zone, doing the hard thing will foster within you a Spiritual agility that enables you to be flexible in a variety of circumstances. It will also give you a power strong enough to resist the devil, and when you do, he will flee from you and you will do amazing things for Jesus! Isn’t that wonderful news? |
Prayer
I ask, Jesus, that you would challenge me and give me opportunities to love my enemies so that I can become anti-fragile.
Reflection
When’s the last time you were stretched, or took a punch, for the sake of becoming more Spiritually agile and less fragile?
One Response
Hello Bobby, A few years back I had a part time job as well as my regular job. I worked my part time job for 11 years. It was getting me pretty tired. So I decided to quit. I’ve been retired from my regular job about 10 months now. However now it’s beena rough year, as my brother passed away from brain cancer this past July. So that’s has taken a toll on the family. But I’m staying strong. The family and I are going about our regular lives. That what Howard would want us to do. Keep myself in your prayers during the days and months ahead. My brother and I have a 3 bedroom double wide mobil home that we’ve lived in for the past 22 years. I plan to sell it, and move into a senior cit. apt.