Yielding our Rights

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.”

(Matthew 5:38-42 ESV)

 

We’ll soon be celebrating our nation, we’ll soon be celebrating our freedom, as we ring in the 4^th of July. And these are blessings that are rightly celebrated. Living where we do is a great blessing, as are the freedoms we enjoy.

 

We sometimes, however, become quite stubborn when it comes to our freedoms. We become quite stubborn when it comes to protecting and maintaining our rights. And, on the surface, this makes sense. It makes sense because, if we surrender them, we’re not likely to get them back.

 

It can get to the point, however, where we worship them. It can get to the point where they become more important than anything or anyone. They become more important than even our neighbor.  And we’re unwilling to lay them aside, even briefly, for the welfare of those around us.

 

We see this as we look at the passage above. We believe that we have an inherent right to protect ourselves. We believe that we have a God-given right to protect our well-being and our possessions. And for this reason, we find the principle of “an eye for an eye” quite appealing.

 

Jesus, however, makes us rather uncomfortable. He tells us that we’re not to resist the one who is evil. He tells us that, if someone slaps us on the right cheek, which is more of an insult than an attack, we should turn to him the left. He tells us that, if someone sues us for our tunic, we should let him have our cloak as well. He tells us that, if anyone forces us to go with him one mile, we should go with him two.  And he tells us to give to the one who begs of us and that we’re not to refuse the one who would borrow from us.

 

This is something that’s hard to wrap our mind around. We feel that, if we put these words into practice, we’re allowing ourselves to be abused and we’re allowing others to take advantage of us.

 

This is exactly the point. We’re far too worried about such things. We’re far too worried about people taking advantage of us. And we’re far too worried about being abused.

 

Our tendency is to quickly retaliate. Our tendency is to hold tight to what is ours. And our tendency is to protect our rights before others.

 

If we are to err, however, Jesus would not have us to do so on the side of retaliation. And he would not have us do so on the side of selfishness. He would have us err on the side of yielding, of giving, and even being taken advantage of.

 

If we’re to err, we should always err on the side of loving our neighbor. We should always err on the side of extending grace. And we should always err on the side of generosity.

Embracing the Difference

 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

 (Matthew 5:13 ESV)

Our natural desire is to be like those around us. Our natural desire is to fit in. And any time we stand out, we feel very self-conscious.

We feel, in that moment, like all eyes are drawn to us. We feel like someone walking through the mall in a clown costume. We feel like a teenager leaving the house with a huge pimple on  his forehead.

We see this in a variety of ways. Although we insist that we’re independent and that we make our own decisions, and although we insist that we don’t merely follow the crowd, we seek to dress like everyone else. We seek to talk like everyone else. And we always seem to have the same tastes and preferences as everyone else. 

I often find it humorous that this is true even when it comes to something like our cell phones. Having an Apple product, having an Iphone, has become something of a status symbol. And if someone chooses another type of phone, they are ridiculed.

This, however, is seen in ways that are far more serious. As our faith causes us to stand out, we begin to feel self-conscious. We begin to feel different and at odds with those around us.

We, then, want to adjust everything about ourselves. We want to adjust our behavior, our speech, and our dress. We even want to adjust our beliefs and our values.

The problem with this is found in the words of Jesus, above. As we read them, we find that we’ve been made by the Lord to be distinct. We find that we have been made to stand out.

Salt has a distinct taste that sets it apart from all else. But if this distinction is lost, so too is its purpose and value. If salt loses its taste, it’s good for nothing. As Jesus points out, it’s then thrown out and trampled under foot. 

And the same, you see, is true of us. If we, as believers, lose our distinctiveness, we are good for nothing. If we are the same as those who surround us, our purpose has been lost. We’re no longer able to point the world to the Savior and to the blessing he’s made available.

It’s our distinctiveness that enables us to do so. God, after all, has made us to be holy. He’s set us apart for himself. And this is something that’s visible, that is noticeable, to those around us.

He Came for All

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

(Matthew 9:12–13 ESV)

The words, above, were spoken by Jesus in response to the Pharisees. He had called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him. And Jesus, then, reclined at his house.

As he did so, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And it was this that prompted criticism on the part of the Pharisees. They asked Jesus’ disciples why he ate with tax collectors and sinners.

The implication, of course, is that he should not have done so. The implication is that this was beneath him. The implication is that they were undeserving of his time and attention. And the implication is that there are others who were.

This, you see, was the problem. And it’s this attitude that Jesus addressed. Those who are well, he said, have no need of a physician. 

The tax collectors and the sinners were just that. They were sinners. And, as such, they were in need of the healing he came to bring.

By their objection, then, the Pharisees were trying to deny these people the blessing they needed. They were trying to deny them the healing they needed. They were trying to deny them the grace and mercy of God.

In addition this, Jesus  was in no way agreeing with the assessment of the Pharisees when it came to their standing. He was in no way agreeing with their assessment of their righteousness. And he, in no way, implied that they were well.

He was telling them something about themselves. He was alluding to their need. He was telling them that, like the tax collectors and sinners, they too were sick and in need of a physician.

They saw the sin of the tax collectors and the immoral, but were blind to their own. They saw the unworthiness of the tax collectors and the immoral, but failed to see their own. And if they were to receive the mercy of God, they needed to comprehend their guilt.

In the same way, like the Pharisees, we often want to deny Jesus to those who need him most. We want to deny sinners of the mercy he came to bring. And, at the same time, we deny our need for him, believing ourselves to be well.

In our mind, then, Jesus came for no one. His mercy is for no one. And, in addition to this, his death was for no one.

The good news for the Pharisees was that, just as Jesus came for the tax collectors and sinners, he had come also for them. And just as he desired mercy for the tax collectors and sinners, he desired it also for them. They needed only to recognize that they were not well, and that they were in need of the blessing he came to bring.

This, of course, is the good news for us as well. Although we aren’t the good people we believe ourselves to be, Jesus has come for us. And as we recognize and acknowledge our need for mercy, this blessing will be ours.

Rightful Appeals

 “Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!”

Psalm 44:26 ESV

The Lord has encouraged us to pray. He’s encouraged us to bring to him our needs. He’s encouraged us to look to him as a child looks to his father for blessing.

Most of us do just that. We bring to the Lord both our needs and our wants. We offer them up in prayer on a regular basis.

However, as we do so, we often appeal to him wrongly. We plead with him, based upon our past efforts. We appeal to him, reminding him of all that we have done.  We appeal to him, reminding him of all we’ve done for him as well as for our neighbor.

We also do so, promising our continued service. We tell God that, if he grants our request, we’ll serve him in the days ahead with the same vigor as days past. We tell him that, if he gives to us what we desire, we'll devote ourselves to him even more fully than we have in the past.

We do so, failing to realize that this contradicts the very gospel we confess. The gospel, of course, tells us that the blessing of God is given graciously. It’s something that he freely bestows upon those who believe. And it’s in no way dependent upon our efforts or promises.

As we pray, then, as we bring to the Lord our wants and our needs, how are we to do so? On what are we to base our appeal? 

We find the answer to this question in the verse above. In it, we see how the Psalmist appeals to the Lord. And we clearly see on what he bases his plea.

He calls upon the Lord for help. He calls upon the Lord for redemption. And he asks the Lord to do so for the sake of his steadfast love.

He bases his appeal, you see, upon the very nature of God. He bases it upon the character of God. And he bases it upon the ongoing expression of God.

He asks God for help for the sake of his, of God’s, steadfast love. He asks God for help for the sake of his lovingkindness. He asks God for help for the sake of his unfailing love.

We cannot rightfully appeal to God by who we are or anything we have done. And we cannot do so because we are sinners. We cannot do so because the only thing we deserve from the Lord is judgment, rather than blessing.

God, however, possesses a loving nature. He possesses a faithful nature. And he possesses a good and gracious nature.

God has also done everything necessary that we might receive his blessing. He’s offered up his only Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sin. And by this act, the blessing of God has been made available to us.

As we pray, then, as we approach God with our needs and requests, we should do so on this basis. We should do so not because of who we are, but who he is. We should do so not because of what we have done, but because of what he has done. We should approach him and appeal to him for the sake of his steadfast love.