I’ve heard the phrase “bless your enemies” so many times it’s become a joke. Docile subservience is NOT why Jesus instructs us to “bless your enemies”. Let’s talk about the real-life reasons WHY we should bless our enemies.

Who Is Our Enemy?

Let’s be clear. Enemies are not just people we dislike. If we are people who serve God and stand up for righteousness then anyone who stands against that is controlled by a spirit that is rebellious against God. That is our enemy. 

God makes it clear that we are fighting a spiritual, not physical war, against spiritual enemies: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Fight in the spirit. Take action in the natural.

6 Reasons God Wants Us to Bless Our Enemies

The Kingdom of Heaven is about building relationships, not tearing them down.

God will never tell you to return hate with hate. Instead, He tells us to rebuke the enemy, resist evil influence, and speak the truth in love. Each of these things communicates objection to wrongdoing and opens the door to redemption once people turn away from evil. 

Genuinely blessing your enemies shocks the hell out of them.

Have you ever heard the saying “misery loves company”? Yeah, hateful people do things they think will make you hateful too, because they want your life to be as miserably poisoned as theirs. When you stand firm against evil in a manner that reflects God, your enemy is totally stunned. They get confused and wonder why you’re not tight in the shoulders, pissed off, and losing sleep like them. That shock might even make them try harder to push your buttons. Don’t fall for it. Continue to be firm that you stand for righteousness, peace, love, and justice. If you aren’t moved or pushed out of character by other people’s shenanigans – it shines a light on their foolishness and can eventually make them question their ridiculous behavior. 

You can’t spew hate if you’re busy spreading blessings.

We hear this one a lot. People say things like “forgiving those that wrong you, and blessing your enemies is more for your healing than for them”. While that is true, there is something deeper at work here. The Bible tells us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. Similar sentiments are expressed in Neurolinguistic Programming… the Laws of Attraction… Success Mindset… and all kinds of belief systems around the world. Why? They all recognize that the words you speak today create your experience tomorrow. Your enemy wants you spewing hate today so that your tomorrow is divided and stressed. If we’re constantly in destructive hate mode then we’re too distracted to build a prosperous future. That’s why instead of hatred, we should stand firm against evildoers and spend significant time spreading blessings that build a prosperous future. 

Blessing our enemies strengthens and demonstrates our faith in God.

When people do me wrong I am often tempted to get them back, or at least justify myself to anyone who will listen. Instead, Jesus tells me in Matthew 5:44-47 to “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”. In a practical sense, this means I protect my boundaries by not giving haters access to repeatedly harm me, but I also do not take action to “get them back”. I pray for them privately. If I have to be in relationship with them (for work, or some other reason), then I continue to behave honorably with them and look for ways to help that person just as I would for anyone else. I obey God by showing love. This is an act of trust that God will “cause all things to work together to my good” because I love Him and am called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Blessings are not a pass for bad behavior or a call for weak Christians.

Followers of Christ are called to be bold, outspoken warriors for social justice. Wrong is wrong. Let’s call it what it is and discipline people when it’s warranted. Love them and bless them while you correct them. But do correct them. Shedding light on injustice is an act of love.

Blessings are a tool for spiritual warfare.

This is important. I need you to catch this. Don’t just pray any blessing. Pray the specific words from the Bible that apply to this situation. In fact, blessing your enemies is a tool of spiritual warfare. When conflict arises on Earth, Christians need to see the spiritual forces behind them and act accordingly. Different blessings work for different situations. Know your Word so you can speak the right blessing.

Conclusion

Stop making God a meme! Our culture is on another level right now having a form of Godliness (aka saying all the right things), but denying His power. Meaning people really don’t understand or apply the radical life-changing effects of true faith. 

You might notice that every time I talk about blessings I also talk about standing firm for justice. Too often the conversation around why we should bless our enemies focuses on making everyone happy and forgets that correcting wrongdoing is also a form of blessing. You wouldn’t let your best friend walk around with a booger in their nose. No. You would say, “Dude, I want you to look good, so here’s a tissue”. We should approach our enemies with that same kind of love. “Dude, I want you to be whole, so here’s a blessing that will make you better, not just make you feel good… when I bless you it gives you something to live up to… I’m speaking life over you so future you will be better than what you’re accused of today”.

We need to know what God says… understand it for our lives… and, be able to apply it with strength, grace, and love. Read the Bible. Think about it. Act on it.

If you’re looking for help on how to relate to others, check out the Everyday Daniel Spiritual Formation course https://everydaydaniel.thinkific.com/courses/digitalcourse.