How to lose your enemies

Nobody wants enemies. Hating them, however, only makes things worse. Hate generates more hate; and violence, more violence. But there is a way to lose our enemies -- the way Christ Jesus taught: by loving them. He agreed it was easy enough to love one's friends. But he was not being visionary when he said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.' n1

n* Matthew 5:44;

There is only one way to obey this rule consistently, and Christian Science signals this way: to see man as God knows him -- as His very likeness. That is how God created man, and there isn't really any other kind of man -- unless we postulate another creator. The Bible tells us that God is Love and Truth, and implies that He is Mind, the divine Principle of all. So man must reflect the Truth, and implies that He is Mind, the divine Principle of all. So man must reflect the qualities of Love, of Truth, of Mind and divine Principle. Plainly, then, hate, envy, impatience, selfishness, do not belong to man.

The understanding of these immortal facts enables us to reject as untrue about anyone qualities unlike the divine. By drawing a clear distinction between these qualities and individuals, we impersonalize evil.That is, we take away its supposed life and power and clear the way for proof of man's true status as the reflection of God. This has a healing effect, because we are aligning our view with the divine and so allowing the law of Christ, Truth, to operate in human life and bring out what is good -- what is true of man.

If we realize that in situations of conflict we are dealing with thought, we can understand how spiritually correct thought emanating from divine Mind, God, dispels the false thought that supports hatred. The Christ- power -- the power of God's idea -- enters the human heart, softens it, and lets kindness, generosity, and patience gain supremacy. The Christ brings thought and feeling into accord with the harmonious Principle governing the universe and man -- divine Love. And, as Mary Baker Eddy n** writes, "No power can withstand divine Love."[*] n2

n2 Mrs. Eddy is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science; [*]Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,m p. 224.

In true prayer God is always our starting point. Since He is the creator of all, all must reflect and express God's qualities. Man's real identity reflects the integrity of divine Principle, the intelligence of Mind, the grace of Soul, the perfection and goodness of Truth, and the beauty of Love. Could anybody really be at enmity with such an individual?

In order to demonstrate these facts of being we need consistency of action and conviction of the truth of man's immediate perfection. Loving enemies does not mean attempting to make a hateful mortal into a loving one. If we have conquered hate in our- selves it is usually reflected in healing of the situation; but if not, more is needed of us. That "more" is to sharpen our awareness that no onem is unlike the man God created. Until we have arrived at the point where we cannot see anyone embodying enmity or evil, we have not really seen God's likeness.

The demand is to heal hatred in ourselves and to reflect the love that opens the way for us to feel love expressed by others. In this way we will help to control this destructive mental animus, which feeds larger conflicts, including wars. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God . . . I John 3:1