In Judith Viorst’s book for children entitled I’ll Fix Anthony, Anthony’s younger brother complains about the way his older brother treats him. The little brother says: “My brother Anthony can read books now, but he won’t read any books to me. He plays checkers with Bruce from his school. But when I want to play he says, ‘Go away or I’ll clobber you.’ I let him wear my Snoopy sweatshirt, but he never lets me borrow his sword. Mother says deep down in his heart Anthony loves me. Anthony says deep down in his heart he thinks I stink. Mother says deep deep down in his heart, where he doesn’t even know it, Anthony loves me. Anthony says deep deep down in his heart he still thinks I stink. When I’m six I’ll fix Anthony. . . . When I’m six I’ll float, but Anthony will sink to the bottom. I’ll dive off the board, but Anthony will change his mind. I’ll breathe in and out when I should, but Anthony will only go glug, glug. . . . When I’m six my teeth will fall out, and I’ll put them under the bed, and the tooth fairy will take them away and leave dimes. Anthony’s teeth won’t fall out. He’ll wiggle and wiggle them, but they won’t fall out. I might sell him one of my teeth, but I might not. . . . Anthony is chasing me out of the playroom. He says I stink. He says he is going to clobber me. I have to run now, but I won’t have to run when I’m six. When I’m six, I’ll fix Anthony.” Most of us know the feeling of Anthony’s little brother — whether we want to fix a family member, a person at work or a one-time friend who did us wrong.
All of us have felt the desire to “get even” with someone, pay them back, settle the score or exact an “eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” — maybe even two teeth for a tooth. But Jesus really messes with our desire to take justice into our own hands. We not only want justice to be done, we want to be the one to do it. We have to admit that these words of Jesus are extremely difficult and that we do not like them much. We want to be able to stand up for ourselves and defend ourselves. Turning the other cheek sounds ridiculous to us. And what about giving more to the person who is suing us than they are asking? We might go the second mile for our family, but for our enemies? It doesn’t sound very practical.
But for the next few moments let’s imagine that Jesus is serious about what he said and actually expects us to live this way. However, let me give one disclaimer before we begin, one qualification. Jesus did not mean for us literalistically to turn this into a rule or law, which is what we tend to do with most religious teachings, so that it is always and in every situation the thing that must be done. For instance, a wife is not to put up with physical abuse. We are not to stand by and watch a child being victimized. It does not mean that you never lock your door, or just allow someone to take everything you have. Jesus is not proposing a literal rule for us to follow, he is helping us to see what the characteristic behavior of his followers is like. This is an important point. Dallas Willard is helpful here when he says, “In every concrete situation we have to ask ourselves, not ‘Did I do the specific things in Jesus’ illustrations?’ but ‘Am I being the kind of person Jesus’ illustrations are illustrations of?’” In other words, generally, and as a matter of course, this is how kingdom people live. They do not take revenge. They do not try to get even. They do not trade criticisms and insults. They are willing to go the second mile and are not paranoid about being taken advantage of. They give and lend without worrying about getting back. They give more than is asked of them.
How can this be? Is God expecting the impossible of us? In a different context Jesus was explaining another difficult kingdom principle to his disciples when they balked at the impossibility of his teaching. But he looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). This is not something we can achieve on our own. This is only accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as we consistently spend time in prayer and study his Word. It happens only as we surrender to him, and from the core of our being desire his full will and purpose to be fulfilled in our lives. It happens as we understand that it is not just about being saved, but being transformed. Being a Christian is not a one time experience, it is a process. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon.
This is a process which results in our being changed into the likeness of Christ. It begins to happen when several realizations begin to dawn on us. The first awakening comes when we realize: It is about trusting God. Here is the first lesson in surrender. We stop trusting ourselves to make our lives work, stop planning how things are going to happen as though it is all up to us, and we begin to trust God to work things out. As Christians we believe that God is in control of our lives — even when bad things happen. We believe that God can take the evil that happens in our lives and use it for good. The evil that the evil one tries to ruin our lives with is turned back on his own head because of the watchcare of our heavenly Father. Christians believe that we have someone who cares for us and takes our part. We believe that he watches out for us. We don’t have to defend ourselves because he is defending us. The Psalmist exulted: “I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:1-4).
You see, when you believe that God is watching over you, and cares about you, then you don’t worry so much about what the world can do to you. You don’t have to worry about getting even, because you know that the Lord is a just judge and will give out the right sentence. You believe the verse that says, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19-21). Vengeance is God’s responsibility as the only righteous judge. When we get involved, we mess things up and interrupt what God had in mind to take care of the situation. The Bible warns, “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him” (Proverbs 24:17-18).
The problem is that we want to get satisfaction and handle the situation ourselves. We trust ourselves more than we trust God. We know we will get the job done, and we are not sure God will. But when you become a Christian and believe that your life is in the hands of God, you learn to trust him with all the situations you face in life. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’” He was repeating the Old Testament law found in Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:19-20 and Deuteronomy 19:21. This was known as lex talionis, or the law of retaliation. At the time it was actually a very humane law. Prior to this time the law of the jungle was not an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but a bashed-in head for an eye and a broken jaw for a tooth. The law of retaliation limited what a person could do to another. It was a dramatic leap ahead for civilization. But when Jesus came, he took it one step further. He not only told his followers not to exact vengeance of any kind, and leave it in the hands of their heavenly Father, but he added something very difficult. He said, “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). The word for strike which he used was the Greek word rhapizo, which meant to strike with the open hand, or slap. It was the slap of insult. The principle here is that when we turn the other cheek, we do not resist evil — either in kind or to a lesser extent. But then Jesus takes it another step higher when he says, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). This means that we not only do not retaliate, but we pay back the evil that was done to us with good. This is the opposite of being passive. It is being active in our pursuit of doing good to those who are against us. We actually look for ways to bless our enemies. When you do this you are in control of the situation. This is not being passive, a pushover, a doormat — it is the opposite. You are taking charge. You are going the second mile, not because you must, but because you choose to do so. You can’t do that if you don’t trust God. Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy helps us when he explains, “We know what is really happening, seeing it from the point of view of eternity. And we know that we will be taken care of, no matter what. We can be vulnerable because we are, in the end, simply invulnerable.”
What a great truth
There is a second awakening, and that is when we realize that: It is about not doing it our way. There are several approaches people have for dealing with evil. There are those who fully engage in aggressive confrontation, arguments and exchange accusation for accusation, criticism for criticism. There are those who are “passive aggressives” — those who will not confront anyone, but who get their way by quietly resisting or undermining the efforts of those they want to oppose. There are those who are simply passive and allow others to walk all over them. There are those who just ignore their enemies. They do not speak to them. They avoid them. They don’t wish them harm, they don’t hold a grudge against them, they just try to pretend they don’t exist as best they can. Then there are those who try to follow Jesus’ teaching and actually do good to those who are set against them. This takes enormous courage and enormous trust in God. The goal is following Jesus in doing good. The goal is reconciliation if possible, whether the other person receives it or not is beside the point.
We Christians have this crazy notion that it is not all about us. We have this wild belief that it is all about God and living out his plan for the world and for us. We have this insane idea that even if the world abuses us it does not ultimately matter, because he is going to restore all things and make all things right. The world order says, “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” But the new order of Jesus is: “Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28). Our beliefs and our lifestyle are alien to this world. This is not the easy way. This is not the way we would choose in our natural self. This is the way of God, and only God can give us the strength it takes to do it. But just because it is difficult does not mean that we can ignore Jesus’ teaching. This is the path Jesus commands us to follow.
And he has not left us without example. This was the path he walked. The Scripture says of him: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Isaiah again prophesied that his words would be: “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6). John Stott has written: “Jesus seems to have prayed for his tormentors actually while the iron spikes were being driven through his hands and feet; indeed the imperfect tense suggests that he kept praying, kept repeating his entreaty, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34). If the cruel torture of crucifixion could not silence our Lord’s prayer for his enemies, what pain, pride, prejudice or sloth could justify the silencing of ours?”
And so here follows naturally the final and most important truth that: It is about being like God. If we do to our enemies what they do to us, then we have become like our enemies. If we follow the example of Jesus then we are becoming like him. Peter wrote: “For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:19-23). When Peter attempted to defend Jesus in the Garden by drawing his sword and cutting off the ear of the High Priest’s servant, Jesus said, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). He did not defend himself and would not let others do so. Jesus said that when we follow his example we are becoming like God, for he said: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45).
In the March, 1994 edition of Time magazine, Edward Barnes wrote an article entitled “A Sniper’s Tale.” It is about a Sarajevo man named Pipo whom Barnes quotes as saying: “Everyone likes peace except me, I like the war.” He was a Bosnian Serb sniper who has shot down 325 individuals for the sake of revenge. Before he was a sniper, Pipo had a restaurant in Sarajevo with his partner who was a Muslim. They were friends, as well as partners, until Pipo’s mother was put in jail and tortured by Muslims. Barnes quotes Pipo as saying, “When she got out, she wouldn’t talk about it. That’s when I picked up a gun and began shooting Muslims. I hate them all.” Taking revenge has changed Pipo. He says, “All I know how to do is kill. I am not sure I am normal anymore. I can talk to people, but if someone pushes me, I will kill them. . . . In the beginning I was able to put my fear aside, and it was good. Then with the killings I was able to put my emotions aside, and it was good. But now they are gone.” After shooting over three hundred people, Pipo has no more fear, no remorse, no feelings at all. He said matter-of-factly: “I have no feelings for what I do. I went to see my mother in Belgrade, and she hugged me, and I felt nothing. I have no life anymore. I go from day to day, but nothing means anything. I don’t want a wife and children. I don’t want to think.”
The problem is that Pipo became exactly like the people he hated so much. This is what happens. When we hate someone they are constantly before our face. Our focus is on them, so we become like them. But when we forgive, refuse to plan how we are going to get even and focus on Christ, we become like him. The Bible says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
When you are tempted to take revenge, stop and pray that you will be able to trust God to bring about ultimate justice, that you will be able to do things God’s way rather than your way, and that in the process you will become like him.
Rodney J. Buchanan
February 27, 2005
Mulberry St. UMC
Mount Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
Taking Revenge. . . or Not
(Questions for February 27, 2005)
1. Read Exodus 21:23-25. How was the lex talionis (law of retaliation) an important improvement to current standards when they were first imposed by the law of Moses?
2. Read Romans 12:19-21. Why is vengeance the task of God? What happens when we try to take over?
3. When Paul says, “Leave room for God’s wrath,” what does this mean?
4. How does doing good to our enemies “heap burning coals on their heads”?
5. Far from asking us to be passive, Jesus is asking us to actively pursue doing good. What would this look like if you practiced this principle toward someone who has counted him/herself your enemy?
6. Why is a total surrender to God essential in the effort to follow this teaching of Jesus?
7. Why is not living for ourselves so counter to our culture today? Why is it
still the best idea?
8. Read Proverbs 24:17-20. What truths stand out to you in these verses?
9. Read 1 Peter 3:17. How do you feel about this verse?
10. Read Matthew 26:51-53. How did Jesus model this teaching in his own life?
