Frenemy

As a former elected official, I’ve made it a point to keep political enemies at arm’s length. However, last week I was caught off guard when I came face to face a former enemy while shopping at Walmart. He reached out to shake my hand and after his greeting we spent five-minutes discussing local politics. He avoided talking about the personal attacks he’d made, but he expressed regret for being manipulated, deceived and used by others. I’ve never really understood how people can be enemies one day and then cordial the next, but it is possible. Jesus was taken before Pilate and Herod, “The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies” (Luke 23:10-12 NIV).