Sitting with Your Enemy

 July 3, 2024

“Don’t give the enemy a seat at your table.”

A friend recently posted these words in reference to Psalm 23:5. I told her, “This is good; I’m going to use it.” Now I have.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…”

It’s an interesting take on this text. I’ve read and quoted this psalm more times than I can recall, and every time I do so, this phrase grabs me. I’ve spoken of it before, how we often ask God to remove our enemies. We’re like David in the psalms, calling out for God to slay them, crush them to powder, grind their faces in the dust. 

But here, what David wants may be the sweetest revenge of all—to sit down to a sumptuous meal prepared by God himself, while his enemies are on the outside looking in, wishing for a mere taste of the feast he enjoys. In some ways, that’s even better than having them wiped off the face of the earth.

But whoever wrote these words had a different take on it. Most of us have probably had the difficult experience of sitting down to a meal with someone we’re mad at, or who’s mad at us. It makes for a pretty uncomfortable and tasteless meal. You don’t want to eat; at best, you choke down a few unsavory mouthfuls before you can’t stand it anymore and the meal erupts into angry, ruthless chaos.

What is the enemy you give a seat at your table? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? Worthlessness? Pride? The list could go on and on, but the advice is the same: Why give such negativity and unbelief a place in your heart? It only spoils the meal God has prepared for you. The table groans beneath the weight of his glory, but when you invite the enemy to sit down beside you, you can’t enjoy a single bite.