Outmaneuvering Your Enemies


Last Sunday at The Donelson Fellowship I spoke from Matthew 5:38-48 about how to treat our enemies. I told the story of a Pakistani Muslim named Mr. Qureshi who became a Christian. He faced a lot of persecution. The local post office began opening and reading his letters and spreading abroad anything having to do with his faith. The local townsmen organized a boycott against this family. Getting groceries became difficult since the local markets refused to sell them anything. Worst of all, Mr. Qureshi and his family were no longer allowed to draw water from the village well.

Mr. Qureshi decided to dig a well in his own courtyard. Such a thing had never been done in that area and was quite expensive. But a friend heard about what was happening and offered to finance the project. Out of desperation the Qureshi family had a well drilled on their property and they tapped into a rich supply of sweet-tasting water. That got the attention of everyone in the village.

And then do you know what happened? Shortly afterward the village well went dry. The very people who wouldn’t let this Christian family have any water now had no water of their own, while the Christian family had all they needed.

What do you think happened? Mr. Qureshi studied John 4:10 and saw how Jesus invited the thirsty ones to come to Him and drink. He remembered the words in the Gospel about loving your enemies and doing good to those who hate you. So he opened his well to anyone in the village wanting water. He made his well available to the whole village. No one could have preached a more powerful sermon than that.

This story comes from Russ Irwin, The Peanut Butter Man (Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing, 2010), 98-101.