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Human Relationship

【Enemies】If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.—Henry W. Longfellow

【Love for Enemies】In the Shapra Indian tribe of Peru, and interesting event occurred. In this South American tribe, who once were headhunters, Christ has made a difference in those who became believers. One man used to kill his enemies when he captured them. After his conversion, he would hold them captive and teach them Scripture for three weeks!—Cited by Herbert Fuqua, missionary to Peru

【Friendliness to Enemies】The Civil War had just ended, and the opportunistic scalawags were busy lording it over their fellow Southerners. A hot-blooded contingency of die-hard former rebels gained an audience with President Lincoln. His gentle, friendly manner soon thawed the ice, and the Southerners left with a new respect for their old foe. A northern congressman approached the president and criticized him for “befriending the enemy,” suggesting that instead of befriending them he should have had them shot for the traitors they were. Lincoln smiled and replied, “Am I not destroying my enemies by making them my friends?”

【Friendliness of Enemies】While still a young boy, a certain Christian formed the habit of praying beside his bed before he went to sleep. Later, when he joined the army, he kept up this practice, though he became an object of mockery and ridicule in the barracks. One night, as he knelt to pray after a long, weary march, one of his tormentors took off his muddy boots and threw them at him one at a time, hitting him on each side of his head. The Christian said nothing, took the persecutor’s boots, put them beside the bed, and continued to pray. The next morning, when the other soldier woke up, he found his polished and shined boots sitting beside his own bed. It so affected him that he asked for forgiveness and after a time became a Christian.

【Response to Evil】A certain man purchased a paper at a newspaper stand. He greeted the newsman very courteously, but in return received gruff and discourteous service. Accepting the newspaper, which was rudely shoved in his face, the customer politely smiled and wished the newsman a nice weekend. A friend observed all of this and asked, “Does he always treat you so rudely?”

“Yes, unfortunately he does.”

“And are you always so polite and friendly to him?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Why are you so nice to him when he is so rude to you?”

“Because I don’t want him to decide how I am going to act.”

【Neighbor】A good neighbor is one who will watch your vacation slides all evening without telling you that he has been there too.

【Prejudice】Mohandas K. Gandhi was the leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule and considered the father of his country. He is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolence to achieve political and social progress.

Gandhi says in his autobiography that in his student days he was truly interested in the Bible. Deeply touched by reading the Gospels, he seriously considered becoming a convert, since Christianity seemed to offer the real solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. One Sunday, he went to a nearby church to attend services. He decided to see the minister and ask for instruction in the way of salvation and enlightenment of other doctrines. But when he entered the sanctuary, the ushers refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go and worship with his own people. Gandhi left and never came back. “If Christians have caste differences also,” he said to himself, “I might as well remain a Hindu.”

【Suspicion】Suspicion enters by the door through which love and trust exit.