“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:27-36)
Most of us have read this passage many times, heard it in class, or heard it incorporated into a sermon. I fear that the content of this passage is the Achilles’ heel to our Christian walk, even for those who are doing their best to live the Christian life day by day. When you watch a movie, are you happy when the villain “gets what he deserves” or when you watch the news and see those who are being destructive in the world get a “dose of their own medicine”?
Unfortunately, the world we live in influences us whether we realize it or not. It has conditioned us so that our knee-jerk reactions to these situations are to want revenge. What we want isn’t always what’s best for our spiritual welfare.
I can’t count how many times I’ve read the passage above to remind myself how I should act in these situations and how God would want me to act.
The question now is, how will you act?