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by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

And I think this is what Jesus means...
Language: English 
And I think this is what Jesus means when he says, “Love your enemies.” 
And I’m so happy he didn’t say, “Like your enemies,” because 
it's kind of difficult to like some people. (laughter) 
Like is sentimental; like is an affectionate sort of thing. 
And you can’t like anybody who’s bombing your home 
and threatening your children. It’s hard to like a senator 
who’s spending all of his time in Washington standing against 
all of the legislation that will make for better relationships 
and that will make for brotherhood. It’s difficult to like them. 
But Jesus says, “Love them,” and love is greater than like. 
Love is understanding, redemptive, creative goodwill for all men. 
And so Jesus was expressing something very creative when he said, 
“Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. 
Pray for them that despitefully use you.”

About the headline (FAQ)

From "Loving Your Enemies", a sermon delivered at the Detroit Council of Churches' Noon Lenten Services, March 7, 1961. Line-breaks have been added arbitrarily.


Text Authorship:

  • by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork (b. 1941), "Difficulties", 1992 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Love and Justice, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2020-06-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 142

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