Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. explains the importance of loving your enemies.

Love has the power to redeem and transform individuals. Hate destroys.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: This is what Jesus means when he says, 'Love your enemy.' This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it. So Jesus says love, because hate destroys the hater as well as the hated.

Now I think there is a final reason that Jesus says, 'Love your enemies.' It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That's why Jesus says, 'Love your enemies.' Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they're mistreating you.