You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? – Matthew 5:43-47

To love your enemies is to reflect the character of your father in Heaven. By not retaliating Jesus keeps us from taking the law into our own hands. By praying for our enemies we can overcome evil with good.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. – Romans 12:14

If Jesus forgave us when all our sins put him on the cross, then that should change the way we view our enemies.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:17-21

These verses summarize the core of Christian living. If we love someone the way the Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we experience Gods Grace, we will want to pass it on to others. Keep in mind that Grace is undeserved favour. By giving An enemy a drink, we’re not excusing his misdeeds, we are recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins just as Christ did for us.

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. – Luke 23:34

Jesus asked God to forgive the people who were putting him to death. Jewish leaders, Roman politicians and soldiers and God answered that prayer by opening up the way of salvation even to Jesus’ murderers. The gospel is that God is gracious he will forgive us and give us new life through his son Jesus and we ought to extend his grace to others as well.

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. – 1 Peter 3:9

In our fallen world it is often deemed acceptable by some people to tear others down verbally or to get back at them if we feel hurt. Rise above getting back at those who hurt you instead of reacting angrily to these people, pray for them.

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. – Proverbs 25:21-22

Gods form of retaliation is most effective and yet difficult to do. In the Gospels Jesus encourages us to pray for those who hurt us. by returning good for evil we are we are acknowledging God as the balancer of all accounts and trust in him to be the judge.

Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them. – Proverbs 24:17-18

David refused to gloat over the death of his longtime enemy Saul ( and you can see 2 Samuel 1 for that). On the other hand the nation of Edom rejoice over Israels defeat and was punished by God for their attitude (and you can see Obadiah chapter 1:12 as reference that) To gloat over others misfortune is to make yourself the avenger and to put yourself in the place of God who alone is the real judge of all the earth.

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. – Luke 6:28

All of Christ’s followers have different values from the world and are thus distinguishable from the rest of the world. All that we do should be with a view towards bringing detractors to the knowledge of God’s love in Jesus Christ.

When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. – Proverbs 16:7

When we align ourselves under gods program it leads to Blessings. Most of those blessings are reserved for eternity, but God can cause the most extraordinary things to happen in our favour when our ways please him. This can be used as encouragement to always do the right thing when facing your enemy.