Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 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: “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.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Have you ever wondered what it means when Paul tells the reader to bless those who persecute you? What would that look like in ancient times, and what does that look like in modern society? Would you be willing to show kindness and give gifts to someone at your work who you knew spoke poorly about you behind your back? Would you still share the Gospel and invite that neighbor out to church who drove you nuts? Would you still willingly show compassion and patience to the entitled young adult who slanders you? In theory, this statement by Paul, which is just an echo of Jesus' own words, sounds practical and worthwhile, but in practice, it becomes very difficult to live out. It fights against our pride and our sense of ego. It even fights against our common sense at times. If I bless those who persecute me, won't that just lead them to persecute me more? In the case of Paul, in his decades-long ministry, he was regularly arriving in a new city and first bringing the good news of Jesus to the same group of people who were actively plotting to arrest, torture, and kill him. He was attempting to bless those who were actively persecuting him. In the same way, we are to bless those who persecute us, and sharing the Gospel is the ultimate blessing because it carries with it eternal blessing, not just blessing for the here and now. We are not to have a hateful attitude towards anyone, not even towards those who oppose and stand as an adversary against us. Jesus spoke of this same heart in Matthew 5:46: "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" The surpassing greatness of the love of Jesus in us is shown in that it can be extended to our enemies. Of course, not all persecution comes from outside the church. Jesus warned us in John 16:2 that the time was soon coming that whoever killed you would think that he offered God a service. These words would become reality not long after they were spoken.

Paul goes on in the passage to give a list of difficult challenges for the Christian reader; things that would be difficult to hear and even more difficult to put into practice, especially in the coming years when the entire church would endure very intense and personal persecution at the hands of Rome. Paul challenges Christ-followers to be willing to associate with people of low positions -- ordinary, everyday people, including refugees, slaves, widows, orphans, and even lepers. It would be this pursuit that would lead to the rapid expansion and multiplication of the early church from thousands to millions over the next few centuries. The Christian church would care for and accept even the outcasts of Roman society. We are also instructed that as far as it depends on you, to live at peace with everyone, those inside and outside of the church. This means we are not to go out looking for a fight, an argument, a quarrel, or a conflict. While there will be circumstances when these things cannot be avoided, as Christians, we are ruled by peace and not seekers of conflict. To live peaceably with all men reminds us that though we are in contrast to the world, we do not seek out conflict and contention. If it is possible, we will be at peace with all men, and the wording 'if it is possible' indicates that it may not always be possible. There is an element of wisdom and discernment in navigating when peace can and should be pursued or when Christians should stand in conflict with evil.

Paul offers simple instructions on how to be considerate of other's feelings instead of waiting for them to be considerate of your feelings. In this way, we can be proactive and lead in our compassion instead of being reactive and led by others. Paul cautions us to walk in humility because pride will lead to a refusal of obedience to God's words, and just like Lucifer, this rebellious pride will always lead to a fall. In refusing to set our minds on important things by human standards and in associating with the humble, we simply imitate Jesus. To repay no one evil for evil recalls Jesus’ command in Matthew 5:38-45. Everything Paul instructed in this entire passage is simply a repeated call to live out how Jesus lived and what he taught. We are to love our enemies and treat those who treat us badly well. We are to have a regard for good things in the sight of all men and to live out the idea of elevating and praising what is good. Unbelievers should be able to see what is good and what is not based on our conduct and attitude towards it. The ones who trust in God will not think it is necessary to avenge themselves. They will leave the issue of justice and vengeance to God and instead overcome evil with good. It is this counter-culture action that is described as heaping coals of fire on your enemy's head. In this way, Paul instructs Christians on how we can destroy our enemy by making him our friend, something that happened often in the early church, where those who opposed Christianity were converted by the power of God. The same thing can happen today. Unbelieving politicians can come to Christ. Those who would threaten Christians can have a God encounter of their own. The Satanist can fall to his knees and humble himself before God. The Witch or Warlock can have a God encounter simply based on our words and actions towards them. God's promises and instructions given then are still valid today. We are still called to trust in God and to live out this good and wise advice given thousands of years ago. If it was fruitful and effective in the early church, it is still fruitful and effective today.