"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." (Proverbs 25: 21-22)

Have you ever known someone, or perhaps several people that you didn't like so much?

Maybe it was something they did to you or to one of your friends but you swore you would never talk to them again or hang out with them.

When you would go to your parents for advice about the issue, they would tell you to still be nice to them and to "kill them with kindness." I grew up with my mom repeatedly telling me to be nice to the people I would always rant to her about.

Our human instinct is to treat the person who did us or someone we care about wrongly. To treat them the way they treated us.

But that's not how God wants us to see it.

He wants us to treat them back with love. He makes it sound so easy right? How is it possible to treat someone with love if all they've done to you was treat you badly?

This question can be answered with a simple question.

How did Jesus treat the people who crucified him, beat him and put him in a tomb because they saw him as a threat?

He treated them with love and compassion and asked his Father to forgive them for what they were doing to him.

We should take this as an example. Fighting fire with fire usually never works, as it just makes the fire a lot bigger. But to melt a heart that has been hardened with kindness is something that will work.

It may take time, it may test your patience but you will most likely be able to get through it.