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PROGRAM D-7081
Are Christians supposed to be doormats? Did Jesus teach us in Matthew 5 to let people take advantage of us? Are we never to stand up and say “No more”? These are real questions many of us often face in our working world.
I love people who are extra milers—people who do more than they have to do, who exceed the requirements. That’s the kind of person I want to be; that’s the kind of person Jesus was. I believe with all my heart that Christians should be extra-milers, especially in our working worlds; it would give us an undeniable witness for Christ.
But I think I also need to address both sides of this principle. So the question is “How many extra miles are we supposed to go?” I want to read from Matthew 5 where Jesus gives us these extra-mile principles. Beginning in verse 38, Jesus said:
“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 someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Those principles are pretty clear. There’s no mistaking that Jesus intends for his disciples to have extra-mile attitudes. Now the question is: Do the principles in Matthew 5 teach us that we are supposed to endure unfair, unjust treatment without end? Does Matthew 5 mean that God really wants us to be doormats?
In Matthew 5 Jesus is teaching us the extra-mile principle, but it seems to me that he is also teaching us its limits. He said if someone strikes you, turn your other cheek, but he didn’t say, lay down on the ground and let him run over you with a truck. He said if you’re sued for a tunic, give a cloak as well, but he didn’t say to throw in your whole wardrobe. He said if you’re asked to go one mile, go two, but he didn’t say go fifteen extra miles.
Sometimes we actually do people a disservice to allow them to take undue advantage of us. There are points at which going too many extra miles would be wrong for others as well as for ourselves.