Matthew 5:44---But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Remember the last
time someone wronged you? Maybe a friend betrayed confidence. Or perhaps
someone attacked your character or lied to you or…well, any one of thousands of
scenarios. Whatever the offense, how did you respond? In matters of good and
evil, our responses can take one of four directions. First of all, some people
return evil for good. This is the devil’s way of doing things. We see this
attitude demonstrated by criminals and by cruel governments. You offer these
people your best, and they hurt you in return. Then some people return evil for
evil. These people aren’t devil-like; they’re beast-like. Animals, especially
wild animals, generally react this way. If you step on a snake’s tail, you can
soon expect to find its fangs in your ankle. Others return good for good. This
isn’t devilish or beastly; it is a natural human response, the response of an
unregenerate person. We don’t find this hard to accept. In fact, when we do
well to others, we expect good in return. But the fourth response, returning
good for evil, makes us halt in our tracks. Jesus says, “But I tell you not to
resist an evil person.” He then gives some illustrations of this: If someone
takes away your coat, let that person have your cloak also; if someone borrows
from you, do not turn away; and if anyone compels you to go a mile, go two. If
we were to put such response into practice, we’d see God do tremendous things
through us. Jesus, in His great love and compassion, has told us how to respond
to others, especially those who hurt us! But we can’t respond this way on our
own; it’s not part of our human nature. Instead, we must turn to Christ
Himself, who returned ultimate evil with ultimate good. Christ went into the
very depths of ruin and hell for our evilness, and in His goodness, He suffered
for us and conquered evil for all time. Only through Christ can we gain the
ability and the desire to go the second mile, to turn the other cheek. Has
someone done you wrong recently? How can you return good for evil today?
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