“As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.”
Matthew 5:40
Several years ago, I wrote a social media post that said “It is better to be loving than to be right. It is more important to have a good relationship than to win the argument.” I was reminded of that post recently. When I wrote the original post, I hadn’t yet surrendered to Christ and I was not following Him. But the Lord must have been teaching me even then because this is His wisdom. I have none on my own.
In the verse above, Jesus is introducing the concept of dying to self, letting go of your sense of personal rights. It is natural to resist someone seeking to take from you, but Jesus is in essence saying “don’t do what feels natural, do what I say.” It may be that our fear of being perceived as weak or our aversion to being taken advantage of will cause us to fight for our rights. How often do you hear “it’s really the principle I’m concerned with”? We all hate to be treated unfairly. But Jesus is telling us not to resist when unjust situations arise. And this idea is repeated in scripture in the writings of Paul.
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay’, says the Lord. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.”
Romans 12:17-21
If you’re bristling at the idea of just letting it go when you’ve been mistreated, I understand. This is a hard instruction to learn to follow in daily life. But ask yourself this: Why does it matter if someone takes advantage of you? Is your value diminished if they do? Does being treated unfairly lesson your significance? Not if you know where your value truly lies. Does it make you more vulnerable somehow? Not if the Creator of the Universe is your defender.
Jesus spoke often of humility, dying to self, putting aside your own interests, and esteeming others ahead of yourself. Why? Did He want to make His followers feel bad? Degrade them? No, of course not! He wanted to teach them to look at themselves differently.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?”
Matthew 16:24-26
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 14:11
The value of a believer does not lie in what others think of him or how people treat him. A believer is not more important because others hold her in high regard. My entire sense of worth comes from my position in Christ. I am a daughter of the King, a child of God. There is literally nothing better than that! It makes me more valuable than gold. How others treat me cannot change it at all. Whether my value is seen by the world is utterly irrelevant. Who cares if other people know how important I am? God considered me important enough to die for! Nobody else’s opinion can touch that.
“For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before Him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He lavished on us in the Beloved One.”
Ephesians 1:4-6
By teaching His disciples to surrender their earthly rights, Jesus was trying to turn their attention to what really matters – the eternal. He introduced this concept in the Beatitudes by explaining how God sees the people that the world calls “the lowly”. He told them those are the ones God considers important.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Matthew 5:3-11
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me”
By teaching that His followers should not resist an evildoer, not to fight back, not to take revenge or insist on our rights being respected, Jesus is telling us to look at ourselves differently and see those struggles for the temporary problems they really are. If we can do that, we will have inner peace in the midst of the chaos, be protected from many temptations, and ultimately be rewarded by the Father. There is great peace that comes from letting go of your need to defend and avenge yourself.
Leave the revenge to the Lord! Let Him be the one to decide how to deal with the evildoers.
“Vengeance and retribution belong to Me. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
Deuteronomy 32:35
You are a child of God. No human on earth can take that away!
Prayer:
Father, thank You for adopting me into Your family. I am so grateful to belong to You! I know that no matter how I am treated by people, I am precious to You and that I will get to live with You forever. That matters far more than any earthly insult or injustice. I know that You are holy, You are good, You are powerful, You are all-knowing, and Your justice is perfect. I know that I can trust You. Thank You for loving me and blessing me in Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen.
a surrendered life 