An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
That’s a very simple thing to say and it’s packed with much truth and it’s often ignored.
Here’s why it’s ignored. Whether it’s under the guise of self-defence or through the encouragement to stand up for yourself and be strong, there is something that just cannot let you get away with doing something evil to me. If you do something evil to me, you should get what’s coming to you. It’s only fair – that’s the reasoning.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.
Romans 12:17
The follower of Christ has something significant to do when it comes to following. Jesus set the standard high for an example to follow. Accused and maligned by many in His time, every time they did so they had to resort to lies. They resorted to lies because there was nothing they could lay on Him. He did not commit acts of sin and behaved in a manner that people could not criticise. People observed what He did and remarkable and contentious though it was for viewers who saw Him challenge some long-held preconceptions, they could find no fault in Him.
This was just as evident in the way He dealt with those who opposed Him. In teaching and action, Jesus lived out the call not to repay evil for evil. When men came to arrest Him, He did not resist or call for armed response to the acts. There was nothing about His mission that gave any of His followers reason to believe that acts of evil were to give room for responses of the same.
So the call of Paul to the church in Rome in terms of not repaying evil with evil came from the source of faith. The renewed mind that looks to do what is good, pleasing and perfect in God’s sight will recognise that evil does not fit good, pleasing and perfect where He is concerned. This is contrasted with the pursuit of doing what is right in the eyes of all.
This instruction to pursue what is right in people’s sight is not to be mistaken for being men-pleasers or conforming to the trends of the day that allows acceptability in the culture. This is an encouragement to exhibit the kind of life that others could view and acknowledge that our behaviour has no hidden motives or ill intent. Those who follow Jesus are known for living in the Light and that means the desire is to do what is right.
It’s a tough standard to hit if we’re looking to go by the world’s standards. It’s tougher still if we look to go by God’s standards. This is why He offers so much to help above which He gives Himself by His Spirit. His life in us lets us know that renewed thinking is to think His thoughts and let those thoughts shape actions. The life of Christ in us by his Spirit is deliberately set to give us the power to live this way. this is particularly seen in the reaction to evil experienced.
You can feel those reactions to being wronged, you can feel those urges when something bad has happened. Those can be acknowledged and His Spirit can still shape and guide so that actions are aligned to that which will please Him. It’s not excusing sin or overlooking it. It’s not condoning it or tolerating it. As Paul would later teach, it’s about knowing what to do with evil and who’s in the best position to deal with it once and for all.
That ability to respond appropriately to evil, then is something that reveals the character of Jesus Christ to those that look on.
This is a mark of a true Christian in true Christian community.
(This blog series was inspired by the Christian meditation on The Marks of a True Christian from the Encounter podcast.)
(Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 