Proverbs 25:21 - Meaning and Application

This shows that, even though the scribes and Pharisees had twisted God’s law, the command to love your neighbor, and even to love your enemies, was not new. It was already there in the Old Testament. Still, Jesus gave this command fresh force by pointing to his own great example, because he loved us when we were his enemies.

We should show love to our enemies through real acts of kindness, even when those acts cost us something and help them most. If they are hungry or thirsty, we should not take pleasure in their trouble or look for ways to block help from them. Instead, we should relieve them, as Elisha did for the Syrians who came to capture him (2 Kings 6:22).

There are good reasons to do this. One is that kindness may win them over and lead to peace. It can soften their hearts, like fire melts metal in a furnace. The best way to turn an enemy into a friend is to treat him like a friend. If kindness does not change him, it will still increase his guilt and punishment, like coals of fire heaped on his head. Just as taking joy in an enemy’s fall may bring down God’s judgment, so kindness may help turn away wrath (Proverbs 24:17).

In any case, we lose nothing by denying ourselves in this way. Whether our enemy softens toward us or not, the Lord will reward us. He forgives those who show a forgiving spirit. He will care for us in our own trouble, even if we have been evil and ungrateful, just as we cared for our enemy. At the very least, this kindness will be remembered at the resurrection of the just, when the good done to enemies will be remembered along with the good done to God’s friends.