As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.     Matthew 5:40-41 HCSB

We live in a world where everyone’s biggest concern seems to be themselves. Narcissism runs rampant on social media. Everyone seems to be saying, “Hey, look at me!” People seem to be starving for attention, even if it’s negative attention.

If Jesus had that attitude, we’d be in some serious trouble. In our Scripture passage today, Jesus is explaining how we are to treat others. He first mentions someone who wants to sue you. If someone is suing you, we can assume the two of you are not close friends. You may have been at one point, but law suits tend to put a damper on relationships.

Jesus began this section of his Sermon on the Mount in verse 38-39 by saying, “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you don’t resist an evildoer.” We know that Romans 12:19 says we are to leave vengeance for God.

Here Jesus is telling us we are not to try to get even. He tells us to not even resist the evildoer. I don’t believe He’s saying not to defend yourself, but that’s a whole other blog. This is where Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek.

In our Scripture passage He also uses the word forces. If someone forces us to do something, we are usually not doing it willingly with a smile on our face. But Jesus says if someone forces us to walk a mile with them, walk two. Jesus is telling us to go the extra mile.

He’s telling us to respond with love. Jesus is talking about how we treat those who might not be so lovable. As Christians, we are held to a higher standard. This means we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Jesus says in Matthew 5:44 we are to do this so we may be sons of our Father in heaven. Jesus could have called a whole host of angels to come down and destroy the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, but instead he prayed for God to forgive them.

This weekend I found myself wondering why God put evil, wicked people in the world. Our pastor helped me make sense of that last night. He said we all have a choice. We all can choose Christ as our Savior. He said no one is born to be a drug addict or a bank robber these are choices we make.

God made us to be in fellowship with Him. No one is born to be evil, but some choose to be evil and wicked.

We must choose to be a Christian. When we make that choice, we must understand it’s easy. We have to do some hard things. We have to forgive those who hurt us. We have to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We have to go the extra mile.

In Romans 12, Paul gives a list of ethics for the Christian. He begins by saying we must love without hypocrisy. We must detest evil and cling to what is good. We must have brotherly love for one another. We must outdo one another in showing honor.

He goes on to say we must bless those who persecute us. He tells us to not repay anyone evil for evil. We are to conquer evil with good. We are to leave vengeance to the Lord.

We all get hurt. We all get offended. It’s a part of life. We deal with evil people but we will never defeat them by joining them. We must trust in God to help us rise above. We must follow God’s instructions for dealing with difficult people. We must go the extra mile. We must show them God’s love.

My boss used to say, “Never argue with an idiot, they will only bring you down to their level and beat you to death with experience.” As Christians we must never sink to the level of an evil person. We must follow Christ and rise above. We must go the extra mile.

Have a great day!