-- Wednesday, 7/27/11 -- AN EYE FOR AN EYE -- Matthew 5:38-42

[J.R. & Bonnie Ricks]

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AN EYE FOR AN EYE -- Matthew 5:38-42

 

    "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.  If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

 

When God gave this Law to Moses and the prophets, he was not giving them free license for revenge.  Instead, he was controlling revenge and retaliation by making the punishment fit the crime.  In effect, the law was an expression of mercy.  It kept revenge from going full blown and turning punishment into something vicious and vindictive and evil.  Think about it.  When you hear about someone committing a horrible crime, do you ever concoct a punishment for that crime in your mind - one that is much worse than even the toughest the courts might hand out?  That's exactly what God was preventing from happening by establishing the Law… through His mercy, He made the punishment fit the crime.

 

Here, Jesus teaches us that we, too, must be merciful.  When someone wrongs us, rather than exacting revenge on that person, we are to "turn the other cheek".  We are to return a blessing for an insult.  We are to do good to those who do evil to us.

 

We should not keep score.  No matter how many times someone hurts you, treat it like the first time.  Return good for the evil done to you.  And don't keep score on your side, either.  Don't keep a list of the good things you've done for someone else.  Treat each moment as a beginning, each situation as the first one.

 

Not long after I was saved, I found myself working with a woman who was probably the most hateful, mean individual I’d ever run across.  She did something really ugly to someone every single day, and every afternoon as I was driving home from work, I’d find myself thinking up really awful things to do to her!  Finally, one day, she did something that just infuriated me, and on my way home, I said, “Lord, you’re going to have to do something about her, or I’m gonna kill her!”  Yes, I know that’s not exactly what one would call a great “pattern” for prayer, but God answered it anyway. 

 

The next day, I was sitting in the snack bar having my lunch when that woman walked in and poured a cup of coffee for herself.  When she turned to leave, she saw me sitting at one of the tables and walked over to me.  Her body language was rather threatening, and on her face was a really ugly scowl, which was nothing new.  That was the normal expression she wore on her face daily.  She glared at me for a second, and then said, “You go to church.”  It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.  I responded in the affirmative, and then she said, “Why?”  It was a demand, not a question.  I don’t recall what I said in response, but some part of it must have touched something in her because she said, “Do you have any books I can read about this Jesus of yours?”  I nodded, and then she told me to bring them to her – the next day!  Again, it was a demand, not a request! 

 

The following day, I brought a couple of books with me to work, and when I saw that she hadn’t gotten to the office yet, I laid them on her desk where she would see them when she came in.  She didn’t say a word to me all day, but that evening when she left, I noticed the books tucked in the crook of her arm.  That was a Friday.  The following Monday, when she showed up for work, I almost didn’t recognize her!  Her entire countenance had changed!  When she saw me, she nearly ran to me, threw her arms around me and said, “Thank you!” about a dozen times, and somewhere in the middle, she burst into tears.  They were tears of joy, though… Talking a mile a minute, stopping only to wipe away a tear or sniff, she told me that she had read both books, spending all evening Friday evening and all day Saturday, reading them.  On Sunday, she went to a church near her home, and, after the pastor’s sermon confirmed what was in the two books, when he gave an “altar call” at the end of the service, she had nearly run down the aisle to be the first one to be saved!

 

I was a “baby” Christian at that point, but I learned a LOT from that one incident in my life – the most glaring of which was that I was to pray for my enemies, and that it doesn’t make any difference to God how you “word” your prayers.  Even when our prayers are pretty rotten in content – as mine was – He still answers, and does so for HIS glory.

 

Dredging up old wrongs, seeking revenge for those wrongs, keeping track of how many wrongs - all are against what God would have us do.  If you're having difficulty with letting go of anger or bitterness toward someone, remember that letting go of it is not a natural thing for you to do.  It is unnatural to return a blessing for an insult.  It is against everything in our flesh to pray for our enemies and to let go of our desire for revenge.  It is only through the supernatural power of Jesus that you can follow His teaching about revenge.  Pray for His help in dealing with situations in the way Jesus would have you deal with them.  Instead of dreaming up awful things to do to the one who hurt you, turn your thoughts to prayers for that person.  You’ll find that you can't attack someone for whom you're praying.  And when you start to pray for that person, be prepared for God to work His wonders. 

 

All Bible quotes contained in these devotionals are from the New International Version 1984 (NIV1984), unless otherwise specified.

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