I Made My Enemy a Casserole

“If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.

If they are thirsty, give them water to drink…”  Proverbs 25:21

I don’t know about you, but there is no way I want to bake my enemy a casserole and bring them a jug of water. They are my enemy for a reason.  They either said something hurtful or pushed me out of their lives. I don’t like them anymore and I as sure as heck don’t want to bake them a delicious casserole. I save my casseroles for those I love and those who deserve it.

But that is me…not the God who is in me! I so often have to push the “me” aside so I can hear God. Why would He tell me to feed my enemy or take them something to drink? Doesn’t He know that they are my enemy? By definition, an enemy is one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent. They don’t deserve my favorite casserole.

We have all had enemies in our lives.  Whether that is the boy on the playground in elementary school who pulled our hair or the girl in high school who stole our boyfriend. Or the girlfriend in our current life who has betrayed or walked away from the friendship. Enemies come in all shapes and sizes. 

In my adult life, I struggled for quite some time identifying who my enemies were.  The “people pleasing” disease ran deep in me making it difficult to admit that I had an enemy. But once I got over my pious self, I could see that I had many closet enemies that I needed to deal with. Denial was no longer my friend, but now had become my enemy too. Denial had festered inside of me for so long that it began to grow a root of bitterness. I wore the mask of happiness while my real self was filled with so much anger and bitterness towards those who had hurt me. At that time in my life, if I had baked my enemy a casserole, they may not have lived to see the next day.

But this seems to be so important to God that He repeats it again in the New Testament.  

Romans 12: 17-20 NIV 

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary:

Make your enemy a casserole!

Feed them; bring them something to drink…take care of their needs!

This seems crazy to me. I prefer…Ignore them; block them; unfriend them on Facebook!

But God says, “Feed them.”

So, why would God say that?

Romans 12:20 NIV Proverbs 25:21-22

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.

And the Lord will reward you.”

You go God! I will feed them and watch as the coals burn on top of their head making their lives miserable and then wait for You to reward me. I like this gig. I have no problem making them a casserole if this will irritate them even more so. And I will definitely make them a casserole if there is a reward in it for me.

“What’s that God? This isn’t what You meant? Then what did you mean?”

To heap burning coals on someone’s head is a metaphor to taking care of one’s basic needs.  In bible times, coals were heated in a brazier or fire pan. This pan was often placed on top of someone’s head as a means of transporting the fire pan filled with coal. People would use these hot coals to heat up a cold room or cook something small. But if they ran out of coals, they would often borrow from their neighbor. When this neighbor lent them these coals, they were helping them take care of their basic needs. So, if you were to heap burning coals on your neighbor’s head, you are helping take care of their basic needs. This was one of the finest of generosities. If you were to heap burning coals on your enemy’s head, you would be helping them even more so. So, it’s a double dose of goodness to the person you prefer to never see again in your life.

Why? Why do I need to do this? Why can’t I just walk away and forget I ever encountered this person? They would be happy and so would I. But God says that happiness isn’t the goal. To be like Him is the goal. I would rather hurl the coals at my enemy than heap them. But it is that desire to hurl that gets my heart in trouble. God’s desire is for us to “be merciful” just as He is merciful. And hurling isn’t merciful, but baking a casserole is.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them… But love your enemies, do good to them,… Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:32-36

Hating our enemy is easy! And I love easy! I can block, ignore, walk away with the best of them.  But doing life with our enemies in the way of God takes mercy, kindness, and trust. Mercy, kindness for our enemies requires trust in God and not trust in ourselves. It’s the harder road to take. Walking the harder road develops character in our lives. When we allow bitterness to release and joy to come in, we walk God’s way!

Enemy caveat…there are people in our lives who are not only enemies but are toxic for us.  Toxic for me means they can hit triggers that cause me to go down a road to unhealth for myself. Loving them is still required of me by God…but in these cases, I have learned to love from afar!

So, crank up your ovens, girls, and get to baking those casseroles!