Do the Good Thing

We have brothers and sisters in Christ whom we are to love. And we have enemies whom we are to love. In the case of the latter, love requires that we “bless” even those who persecute us. In verses 15–16, Paul outlines four ways in which we may do this.

First, we should empathize with them. When our enemies are filled with joy, we should rejoice, too. When they are in sorrow, we should mourn with them. Dr. James M. Boice describes empathy as “the ability to identify closely with someone else, to make his case your own and allow what has happened to him to affect you also.” Empathy is a rare gift in today’s increasingly impersonal society, making it an ideal way to “bless” an enemy. Second, we should remain amicable. Paul writes, “Be of the same mind toward one another,” or, as the NIV puts it, “live in harmony with one another.” We should be easygoing, not prickly. Our enemies should have no reason to hate us for our demeanor. Third, we should maintain “the common touch,” as Boice puts it. Paul tells us not to set our minds on high things but to “associate with the humble.” We should never communicate that we think anyone is beneath us; indeed, we should not even think it. We should willingly associate with the lowly, remembering that we were lowly in God’s sight. Fourth, we should be humble. Paul writes, “Do not be wise in your own opinion.” This exhortation harks back to what Paul wrote in verse 3 of this chapter, where he said the Christian should not think of himself “more highly than he ought to think.” Humility tends to disarm enmity, while pride tends to provoke it.

In verse 17, Paul seems to reiterate two earlier exhortations. “Repay no one evil for evil,” he writes. This is a minimum requirement; we are actually to go much further and return good for evil (v. 14). He then adds that we should “have regard for good things in the sight of all men.” This sounds like Paul’s exhortation in verse 9: “Cling to what is good.” But it is actually saying much more. The Greek word here translated “good” has to do with the best in all areas. Paul, therefore, is telling us that Christians should be leaders in seeking what is good, beautiful, true, noble, right, and so forth. Before the watching world, we are to pursue the highest ideals, which are those God lays down in His Word.