Loving Our Enemy

We're taught to love our enemies,
But how can this be done
When we don't feel like loving them?
We would much rather run.

When we live out what we believe,
The love that Jesus taught,
Then feelings matter not so much
Than what we had once thought.

It seems like it's hypocrisy
To act how we don't feel,
But acting on Christian beliefs
Will show our love is real.

When we don't act on what we feel
We call it self-control.
When we don't act on our beliefs,
We violate our soul.

So if we act in loving ways
We might learn something new.
Good feelings follow acts of love,
Affirming love that's true.

This poem won second place for the June 2025 poetry contest