OVERCOMING THE EVIL OF REVENGE
Matthew 5:38-42
"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. Give to the one
who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
The only way to overcome evil is to let it run itself to
a standstill because it does not find the resistance it is looking for.
Resistance merely creates further evil and adds fuel to the flames. But when
evil meets no opposition and encounters no obstacle but only patient endurance,
its sting is drawn, and at last it meets an opponent which is more that its
match. Of course this can only happen when the last ounce of resistance is
abandoned, and the renunciation of revenge is complete. Then evil cannot find
its mark, it can breed no further evil, and is left barren.
By willing endurance we cause suffering to pass. Evil
becomes a spent force when we put up no resistance. By refusing to pay back the
enemy in his own coin, and by preferring to suffer without resistance, the
Christian exhibits the sinfulness of contumely and insult. Violence stands
condemned by its failure to evoke counter-violence. When a man unjustly demands
that I should give him my coat, I offer him my cloak also, and so counter his
demand; when he requires me to go the other mile, I go willingly, and show up
his exploitation of my service for what it is. To leave everything behind at
the call of Christ is to be content with him alone, and to follow only him. By
his willingly renouncing self-defense, the Christian affirms his absolute
adherence to Jesus, and his freedom from tyranny of his own ego. The
exclusiveness of this adherence is the only power which can overcome evil.
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
