4 Strategies to Loving People you Don't Like

This will be hard for you to imagine, but I don’t like every single person I meet.

Some people I take to a whole lot easier than others.

And my response is to treat those I like better than I treat those I naturally don’t like.

That’s a problem, if you’re a follower of Jesus. 

Here’s what Jesus said about this in Matthew 5:44 “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven…for if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

Wow. Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to loving those you might not like.

But how do you do it? How do you act in love towards people you might not love, or even worse, even like?

I would like to give you these 5 strategies to loving the people in your life that you might not even like:

#1 Find a Point of Common Interest

This might sound selfish, but it will work. Find something you and the person you don’t like have in common. That means asking leading questions to get to know that person. Figure out their hobbies. Understand their psyche. Once you find that common ground, the rest is a cake walk. You’ll see.

#2 Pray for Them by Name and Need

I know…this will stretch you because it will actually entail you getting to know the person you don’t like. It will mean studying them and discerning where their need is without being annoying about it. Then it will mean interceding before God almighty on behalf of that person. It’s hard to dislike someone you’re consistently asking God to bless.

#3 Create an Intentional Plan of Kindness  

Love is an action verb. It’s not just a feeling. When it comes to loving people, it helps to have an overall strategy that works. You might want to write a card or bake some cookies to show love. It might mean babysitting someone’s kids or liking a FB status. Make a plan then execute it with one goal in mind: show the person you don’t like that you love them.

#4 Dump Your Expectations Out the Window

Don’t expect them to be nice in return. Don’t expect magic the first time you compliment him or her. Be committed to the long haul. Loving people is not a pill you can swallow once and be done with it. Love takes time. Love is a long term commitment. It’s a daily moment by moment act of sacrificial obedience to the God who loves you no matter what.

Well there you have it. Easy as cake, right?

I know it’s not. I know it stretches us to love those we don’t naturally like, but by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, you and I can follow Jesus in this kind of love.

That’s what being a Christian is all about: doing supernatural things in His power that we couldn’t do on our own.

If you have any other thoughts on how to love people that are harder to love, share it in the comments section.