Hope Singapore: Beyond The LawSample

Magnanimity - Beyond Withholding Retaliation

People often have this misconception that Christians are meant to be doormats to be stepped all over. It is true that within every human heart, we have this natural inclination to retaliate whenever people wrong us, and that is why the law of “eye for eye” was given in the Old Testament. This was a law of mercy which was originally given in order to restrict the amount of justice one could exert in the face of wrongdoings, but over time the law became misused as a justification for promoting vengeance.

But beyond merely withholding retaliation against provocations, God is calling His people to a higher standard of magnanimity, which is a generosity in forgiving an insult or injury, and a big-heartedness to be able to let go our rights when we are wronged and to return good for evil. This was Jesus’ focus as He unpacked this Law before His disciples on the Mount.

In order to do so, we must first learn to give up our rights when facing personal insults. In the culture at that time, to be stuck on the right cheek would mean that it was a back-handed slap which would have been an ultimate insult to the person, i.e. the mark of ultimate contempt. Yet, Jesus is here asking us to give up our rights to retaliate when insulted, and to learn to take personal insults graciously (Matthew 5:38-39).

Not only should we give up our rights to retaliate when facing personal insults, we need to do the same when facing unreasonable demands. Both suing for the tunic (which would have been a very aggressive lawsuit) and being forced to walk one mile by a Roman soldier (which was an exploitation) were indeed unreasonable demands, but Jesus challenges His followers not to do them reluctantly, but to exceed the demands by offering more than what was demanded (Matthew 5:40-41).

To cap it all off, Jesus’ followers need to learn to give up our rights to expect repayment or reciprocal benefits. Both “asking” and “wanting to borrow” indicate that the person sincerely seeking for help actually has no ability to return whatever would be received. And here Jesus challenges His people to have a magnanimous heart to give and serve despite the possibility of receiving nothing in return (Matthew 5:42).