The old farmer looks up at the priest a little surprised and says rather shyly: “With all respect Father, I don’t think now is the right time to be making enemies.”

You may have heard the saying “friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate”. 

In watching these early campaigning days of the looming Federal Election, I’m getting the horrible feeling that some opposing candidates have actually become enemies. I hope I am wrong. Our enemies are often strange people, who seem to pop into our lives at the worst possible time.

When we were children they would usually try and hurt us by damaging our schoolbags, schoolbooks, our favourite toy, or even try and damage our favourite face with their fists if they were really keen.

However, when we are older, our enemies tend to try and hurt us, almost exclusively, by trying to damage our good name, which, I’m sure you would agree, is much worse than kicking our schoolbag or pinching our toys. Enemies are people who can't stand you, yet they are very interested in what you do in your life. They want to see you fall flat on your face and yet they are constantly trying to give you advice, often via one of your family or friends.

An enemy is someone who talks about you constantly but when you see them in public they pretend they do not know you. So, how can we avoid having enemies? Well, we all know the easiest way: say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

But it was never God’s plan that we live like that. It is important to remember that many, if not all of history’s greatest “good guys” had enemies, even Jesus.

However, Jesus never let his enemies lower the quality of his character and he refused to allow them to intimidate him and he taught this talent to his followers, who, after some early failures, picked up the skill very well.

How? Well it’s a difficult but basic philosophy really: “Love your enemies”. This concept is very Jesus. You will not find the “love” of enemies advice earlier than him really. All of history’s great spiritual leaders have found a strategy or some way for dealing with or coming to terms with enemies, but only Jesus taught that we should love them. I personally feel it is one of the hardest lessons he ever gave. If you can find the strength to do this, the moment you do it, you will find that you don’t have enemies that are destroying your life anymore.

As one saint put it “I have no enemies, I have those who agree with me, and those who do not.”

We may be somebody else’s enemy in their mind, but all will be well if we have no enemies in our mind.

This does not mean you have to go and become their best friend, but it does mean that you let go of any negative thoughts you might have about them, and if you do have them, don’t verbalise them.

No doubt, they will keep speaking evil of you; tell the messenger it’s not true and then focus on your family and friends. Focusing on your enemies will ruin your life because you were born into this world not hate, but to love.