Uneven Exchange
How can you love those who hate you?
Jesus said, “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” - Luke 6:27–38
I understand the logic behind the message Jesus is giving us here. When we love those who love us and are good to those who are good to us, there is no real effort on our part.
It is easy to do.
It is an even exchange.
But if we choose to be good to those who treat us badly, that takes real effort. We have to work at it.
If we believe that we get what we give, then we might want to go the extra mile and give more than one would expect.
Yes, the motive sounds a bit selfish. And maybe that is the appeal. That may be what Jesus is targeting here.
Our motive is to benefit us, not others, but what if we flipped that on its head? What if we truly acted like Jesus and acted for others even when it doesn't benefit us?
Then the exchange is not even. We give more than we expect to get.
Another way of saying that is that we get back less than what we give, and that is a feeling we all probably know well.
What Jesus is saying is we should be good with that. We should think of the other person and see the benefit of his gain in that exchange.
The net position is in his favor, so we should be happy that we did something for him.
That is easier to do in some circumstances, and harder in others.
We need to assess each situation separately and see if we are OK with the outcome. And if we feel we could have done more, we can work on it.
If we feel short changed in the transaction, maybe there is something else we need to work on in us.
More to come...