We’ve all heard of ‘The Golden Rule’, right? Do to others, as you would have them do to you. Sounds easy enough. At least when it’s on paper, when it’s read over us in church or when we think about it in a quiet moment of prayer.
Not as easy though when it applies directly to us, and we’re in the middle of a heated situation that could quickly get worse with a retaliatory response.
LUKE 6:27-31;
“27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
REALLY!?! I can only imagine how He had everyone’s attention, making radical statements, and challenging them to LOVE their enemies, to PRAY for those who mistreat them, and to GIVE more to those who steal from them.
Many present that day must have been confronted for the very first time with this reality – you can’t always follow through on the emotional reaction that comes when someone mistreats you, verbally attacks you, steals from you or even ‘hits you in the face’.
In fact, I think there’s something we need to understand about actually choosing to function this way. I believe we’ve got to know the difference between REACTING to a situation and RESPONDING to a situation.
Most times, our ‘reaction’ is an immediate, reciprocal response to a certain force or event in our life, and many times, it is highly driven by emotion. It could be considered quite similar to a ‘chemical reaction’, where there is a responsive action that chemicals have when introduced to each other. There’s no thought. There’s no delay. There’s no processing. It just happens. Everytime. Bang. Flash. Heat. Fire.
In contrast, a rational ‘response’ would take us through a much different approach. We can still act in reply to a situation, but not without processing it first. We filter it through prayer. We sift it through God’s Word. We deal with our own offense privately with God, and pray away our own need for restitution or justice. And, when we process our response this way, we no longer need to react with an equal amount of aggression that came our way first. Actually, we’re much more ready to walk in the opposite response Jesus gives to us in Luke 6.
Did someone mistreat you? Bless them and pray for them.
Did someone steal from you? Don’t demand it back, but give even more.
Did someone hit you in the face? Don’t hit back, but give them the other cheek as well.
These are some of the real ‘responses’ we should have when we are facing conflict. Let’s do our best to embrace the higher call of living that Jesus gave us and live in the ‘opposite spirit’!
