We can all be kind to people we like. But let’s say you have someone who has criticised you or has just never been nice to you. We all have people we would rather avoid. When they’re in trouble, the temptation to look away and not get involved is real.
We leave the courtroom and enter the field and roadside. God has something to say about how we conduct ourselves there.
“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.” (Exodus 23 v 4-5)
God expects not everyone will like you. In the same way, He knows you won’t like everyone either. However, He expects us to do the right thing when we see our enemy’s stray or fallen ox or donkey (or the equivalent). Take the ox back. Stop for the donkey. And more.
You can’t simply drop the animal back at the gate and walk off. You stand alongside your enemy to help them.
Jesus took this further. “Love your enemies,” he said, “and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). The Apostle Paul wrote that it was “while we were God’s enemies” that we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son (Romans 5:10). We were the ones who had wandered off. We collapsed under a load we couldn’t carry. Jesus came to us, stooped down, and lifted us.
Have you noticed a need and quietly stepped around it because it belongs to someone you don’t like?
Grace that has lifted us doesn’t let us walk past anyone else’s fallen load.
