Why Do We Have So Many Enemies?

I’ve started writing a script for a short film, about enemies. Because we seem to find them everywhere at the moment.

The person in the car in front that’s looking for a parking space when we’re in a hurry.

The person on the forums who thinks that Canon is better than Sony.

The person who doesn’t want to get vaccinated.

The person who wears a mask.

At least the first two seem trivial, but it isn’t hard to find a vicious and vindictive verbal reaction. Where did all the hatred come from? Why all the insecurity, that we’re trying to pick fights everywhere, that anyone different is a threat to our position. When did we all pick sides, and want the other side to fail? Some sides are political, some religious. Some driven my social and traditional media. Some because we live in a competitive society, and we associate someone else’s success with our failure. We want to hold on to what we’ve got, including privilege, and get more.

What makes me most frustrated, personally, is that evangelical Christianity has become so intertwined in it all, particularly in the US. Somehow love and compassion has taken a backseat to being ‘right’. Not that truth isn’t important, but it’s scary how easily we believe that we have it and the next person doesn’t. 

In some ways I’m surprised that Jesus said to love your enemies. Wouldn’t it be better to just not have any enemies in the first place? But maybe there will always be people doing something we oppose, something that works against us and what we hope to achieve. But treat them in love (even if you still hate what they do) and I doubt they feel so much like enemies anymore.

“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress…”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:26-27‬ ‭NASB2020‬