There are some people that just drive me crazy. Don’t you have some? You know who I mean. I know that there are people in your life, on your job, in your extended family, that you hate to see coming. They borrow your stuff and never bring it back. You loan them money and they never get enough and they never repay you. They are malicious at your back and smile when they greet you. The jerks who don’t care about anyone else’s feelings: they say whatever pops into their heads. They know it all and they want you to know that they know. If you were stranded on a desert island with one of these people you would swim into the ocean and offer yourself to the sharks. Am I right? You cannot escape them. They are a constant irritant. What are we supposed to do about them?

“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his son to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” (Matthew 5.43-46a NIV)