Love Your Enemies, Do What is Best for Them – (Proverbs 25:21-22)

Daily Proverbs
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Daily Bible Study
During ancient times it was a common practice to heat up the coals and wrap the warm coals within the head coverings. This was meant to keep people's heads warm and it's that image conveyed here in these passages. We are called not to retaliate, but to do something kind for our enemies and thereby follow the commands of our Lord Christ Jesus. It was Jesus who told us to "love those who hate you and do good to those who despise you" and to "repay evil with good." By doing so, we not only fulfill the commandments of Christ, but we may also win over the hearts of our enemies. Because receiving our kindness and love can cause shame and repentance of their actions toward us. In other words, our good when applied to their evil can cause repentance and the pain of guilt within our enemies.

This in turn can cause a change in our relationship with them as their heart is softened by our kindness. Moreover, by our actions we not only show the love of God, but we become a witness of Christ working in us. And this type of reaction leads us to the second meaning of this passage. That is not only does it refer to being kind to those who hate us. But that our kindness and genuine concern, can also bring about the feeling of repentance and sorrow. Like hot coals on our heart it can affect the conscience of our enemies. Moreover, these acts of kindness done out of genuine love for others help to keep us blameless before God because we returned good for evil. Because, as children of God, saved by faith when we return evil for evil, or we seek revenge and retaliation. We do so because of the hatred and anger in our hearts, which is a sin before God.