Cliff Toss

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you."
(Matthew 5:38-42)

I'll just be honest--I'm not a big fan of this passage.  I like those scenes in movies where the hero who has been harmed or taken advantage of gets to throw the villain off a cliff.  That's not revenge, it's just justice, right?

But how about real life, and how about flipping things around a bit.  We tend to think about ourselves as the ones under the oppressive hand of a bully we want to punch in the throat, and the passage is even written in such a way that speaks to the victim.  Think of those times though when you've been the mean one--physically, verbally...on facebook.  Aren't you glad when, after you've been an idiot and realized it, the offended doesn't come after you?  Aren't you thankful and humbled when, whether the one you smacked around does so consciously or not, he/she obeys Jesus and dismisses the offense (or is even kind to you)?!  It's nice to NOT get what you deserve in those instances--and we've all been in them plenty.  Denial of such just makes us arrogant or ignorant...not innocent.

Here's the deal: Jesus is always speaking to us in a way that challenges us to reflect His own humility, patience, kindness, generosity, and strength.  He was never out to take down the legal and state institutions that do protect the innocent and bring the wrongdoers to justice.  Those eyewitnesses who followed His teaching closely and then gave us the rest of the Bible make that very clear.  God is for, not against, the establishment of governing authorities in every society.  Neither is He against individuals appealing to those systems when injustices are at hand.  The "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" Biblical concept was one that was set in place so that order and peace would reign and "survival of the fittest" rule would be kept at bay.

Now to be sure, knowing these things doesn't necessarily make it easy in the moment to accept harassment instead of avenging it.  But it does give us the opportunity to ask ourselves the question, "How am I going to interact with others (especially the nasty others) in a way that most shines forth the character of Jesus and speaks to my love for Him?"  All we have to do is look at the cross for the right answer to such a question and see the Lamb who was silent before His accusers.

Again, Jesus later wraps up this mountain-top sermon by saying that His words provided a rock to build our lives upon.  It's painful, but how about we bank on God's much-need grace and work together to hammer in the meekness stake?  Ready...Aim...CLINK.