Bad Discipleship Issue

Why pray for enemies? Compromised Christians--what else is new? Are dumb phones the answer?

Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay

Another Reason to Pray for Enemies
I was talking with a priest about my current lack of enthusiasm when I pray for those who have trespassed against me.  For years, I’ve found that the best way to rid myself of anger and resentment against such folk is to pray for them daily.  I don’t pray that they will see the error of their ways or that they will come to me contrite and ask for forgiveness.  I pray that God will bless them in any way he sees fit. This usually works at flushing out my resentment, but sometimes, the ill will remains stubbornly in place.

These prayers, as noble as they sound at first blush, are fundamentally selfish. I’m motivated to pray mostly so that I can stop feeling angry. I’m not the type who enjoys nurturing anger, and Iwant to be rid of it as soon as possible.  Not that it’s wrong to pray that you might enjoy personal comfort. I just need to recognize a large part of what’s really going on when I’m praying for my enemies.

Nonetheless, by God’s grace, such prayers usually have a transforming effect: I not only feel less angry, I also find a small spark of love and compassion for the person. 

But as I said, this stratagy doesn’t always work. So I get weary of praying for them because—sorry to say—it doesn’t seem to be doing me any good.

When I mentioned my weariness about praying for my enemies, this priest said, “You must continue to pray for them, because you don’t want them to do to others what they have done to you.”

I hadn’t considered that aspect. This insight can transform prayers driven by a desire to feel better into prayers for the welfare of others. 

So I’m trying once again to pray for my enemies consistently, asking that God will bless them in the fullest sense of that word. His blessing will no doubt include recognition and contrition for all their sins, as well as the assurance of his forgiveness. His blessing will include a transformation of character, perhaps incrementally, but transformative nonetheless. His blessing on them will then become a blessing for others who will not have to endure an injustice I may have experienced.

That’s the ideal, anyway. Whenever I’m insulted, ignored, hurt—whatever--I still admit to wanting to see my offender punished and humiliated, publicly if possible! So it’s a journey, and the trek out of the barren desert of selfishness is long and hard.  But this priest’s insight was a little oasis along the way.

Culturally Compromised—What Else Is New?
I found “The Evangelical Question in the History of American Religion” to be a keen analysis of American evangelicalism. It is more thoughtful than many analyses. It accepts that evangelicalism tends to be deeply influenced by the surrounding culture, without condemning evangelicalsfor that very phenomenon. 

In my experience, evangelicals imagine themselves as counter-cultural, as a force for challenging the surrounding social values. In fact, evangelicals also mirror so many of those values, especially consumerism (the huge cultural value in America). And as I’ve mentioned in other essays, evangelicals have a strong yearning—an addiction, really--to be respected and accepted by the culture. To be fair, I think the same could be said for Catholics since Vatican II. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s often difficult to tell the difference between an upstanding, middle-class American and an American Christian—and yes, that critique would apply to the likes of me as well.  

It's easy then to ask, “Well, why don’t you just change what you’re doing and start living like Jesus wants you to live, no matter the social or cultural cost?”

And the answer, of course, is, “Easier said than done.” I suspect I’m not alone in struggling with this.

The larger point is this: We are not wise to self-righteously condemn evangelicalism—or Catholicism for that matter—because it has become (in the old parlance) too “worldly.”  This is the struggle of Christians of every generation–so some mercy is called for as we all strive to find and stay on the narrow road. While we’re at it, we might pray for courage to follow Jesus as he commands. 

Dumb Phones for a Month
Speaking of worldliness, we all know what smart phones do to us.  We think we’re in control but, let’s face it, we’re not.  They too often distract us from paying attention to people and tasks right in front of us. Here is a humorous video of one couple’s attempt to turn their smart phones into dumb phones for a month.

Grace and peace,

Mark