Enemies

 1/8/25

Epiphany has come; the 12 Days of Christmas are over, so my thoughts move from that season to today. Every so often, I go through the Psalms for my daily reading. I follow a pattern: On the first day of the month, I read Psalm 1, 31, 61, 91, and 121. Yesterday was the 7th, so I read Psalm 7, 37, 67, 97, and 127. Here’s a verse from my reading this morning:

“If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, Or have plundered my enemy without cause, Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, And lay my honor in the dust. Selah” —Psalm 7:4-5 

Do you have any enemies? David often writes about his enemies, often asking God to grind them to dust and blot out their names from the book of life. This morning, I got to thinking—I can’t think of anyone I would consider an enemy. I don’t think that’s a good place to be.

It is said that you can tell a man by the friends he keeps. You can also tell him by the enemies he makes. If I don’t have any enemies, I have to wonder if I have stood up for what’s right. Jesus said that we are no greater than he, and that if the world hated him, it would hate us, too. So I have to ask, “Where are my enemies?” If all I have is friends, something is wrong.