Loving People Who Hurt You — Is That Even Possible?

Loving people who hurt you is easy to say and hard to actually do. I’ve got somebody like that in my own life right now, somebody I worked with for years who made things genuinely hard on me and was a big part of why I finally left a job I loved. When I read “love your enemies,” she’s who comes to mind.

What Jesus Actually Says

Matthew 5:43-44 says the law told people to love their neighbor and hate their enemy, except that second part was never actually in God’s law. Somebody added it in over time. Jesus flips it: love your enemies, pray for the people against you. He points out that God sends sun and rain on everybody, good and bad alike, and that loving people who already love you back isn’t exactly impressive. Even people nobody respected back then could manage that much.

Grace We’ve Already Been Given

I think about how many times I’ve messed up and asked God for forgiveness, and He’s given it every single time. No exceptions. People sitting in prison right now can still receive that same grace if they ask. God doesn’t ration it based on how bad the offense was.

Scripture also tells us Lucifer was once one of the most beautiful angels God made, before pride led him to rebel and become Satan, God’s actual enemy. And God’s still not up there scheming revenge on him. He’s just secure in who He is. That’s really what loving your enemy comes from, not ignoring what happened, just being secure enough that you don’t need revenge to feel whole.

loving people who hurt you What This Actually Looks Like

Praying for somebody who hurt you can start small. Just saying their name to God and asking Him to work on whatever’s going on in them, even if you don’t feel a thing while you’re doing it. For something heavier, somebody who stole from you, cheated, or hurt you badly, loving them doesn’t mean letting them back in or pretending it wasn’t as bad as it was. It can mean praying they get help, from a safe distance.

What I’ve noticed is this does more for me than it does for her. Every time I pray instead of stew, I feel lighter. That’s not weakness. That’s actually being free of her.

Listen to the Full Episode

I go deeper into all of this on the podcast this week. Hit play below.

Pin loving people who hurt you for Later

Save this one for the next time somebody’s hard to love.

If you like this one, go back and listen to last week’s episode, Why Getting Even Never Feels Good. And if you need something easy for supper this week, my Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes is a real lifesaver. For the full passage in context, it’s on Bible Gateway.

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