QUESTIONS and ANSWERS – Viewpoint
What does “heaping coals of fire upon an enemy’s head mean?
The scripture referred to is Romans 12:20,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he
is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning
coals on his head.”
It is obvious
that this text cannot be taken literally. Therefore, it must be understood
metaphorically as teaching something that the Apostle Paul thought was very
important. The thought is that of rendering
good for evil. In Romans
In Matthew
5:43-44 Jesus tells us, “You
have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I
tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives,
this would be an impossibility. Stephen prayed for
those who were stoning him death. His prayer was, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” This is love in action! This scene was engraved deeply upon the heart
of the Apostle Paul, never to be forgotten. Steven gave a godly witness of love
in action that was beyond human endeavor; it was the power of Christ in him.
Do you have someone who strongly dislikes you, or someone who seems intent on always putting you in a bad light; one who speaks evil of you, or who would do you harm if they had the opportunity? Such would surely be an enemy. What is our reaction when any of these difficult things face us? Do we try to reciprocate in like manner? This would be the natural, or carnal, thing to do. But if we are in Christ, we are no longer to think or act in a carnal manner.
The thought behind the metaphor is that by continuing to do good to our enemy, in time, the acts of love will burn away his hatred and animosity towards us. No doubt, at first our actions will be received with suspicion or might even be rejected outright. But persistency is the key to successfully winning over enemies. It is a rare thing for someone not to be touched when they are on the receiving end of undeserved good and kindness done to them. The intent or motive for returning good for evil is to bring our enemy into a position of repentance and of realizing the error of their position and thus to be reconciled. When we are able, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to do this, we have done something in which the Lord is well pleased.
E. Weeks