Skip to main content

Eye For An Eye..

             “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 anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.  If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)

 

            Oh, what a can of worms. “Don’t resist an evil person?” What about self-defense? Wait, someone who slaps you on the right cheek is evil? And what’s this stuff about “an eye for an eye”? Isn’t that Draconian?

            Let’s start with some background. Moses taught what is called “Lex Talionis.” It’s the law of retaliation. People sometimes think it evil, but “an eye for an eye” is a huge improvement over the justice of other cultures of the time. In the ancient world, if you insulted a king, you, your family and even your city could be killed or destroyed. Consider that the spark that ignited the Trojan War was a woman’s capture by an enemy who then married her. You might say the war began because of adultery. Hundreds, or thousands died because of Helen. World War I was started by the assassination of a nobleman. Again, thousands dead because of the death of one man. I’m sure those incidents aren’t as isolated as we’d like to think.

            The law of Moses didn’t require that one take an eye for an eye. But it limited the violence to one eye – the eye of the guilty party – for an eye. Not two eyes for one eye. Not the eye of a daughter of the guilty party. This is justice. The other thing to remember is that a slap in the face was considered an insult, a threat to ego rather than to life, limb, or property. If someone sues you to take your shirt, it’s worth less than a day’s wages. Even adding your coat probably keeps the total cost under $200. If someone forces you to walk a mile with them (Roman soldiers required people to carry their equipment 1 mile,) they’re demanding 20-30 minutes of your life.

            None of these things threaten life, limb, or property. But we have a choice. We can treat with the person who slapped us, sued us for a pittance, or imposed on us the way he treated us, or worse – in which case, we are as evil as he is. Or, we can recognize that the evil being done to us isn’t worth staining our souls with any evil over and be gracious.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more