A man who chooses the Jesus script is…
A man who refuses to return evil for evil but looks for an opportunity to return good for evil.
It can seem like returning evil for evil is just the way of the world today. When someone wrongs you, wrong them back. When someone takes from you, take from them. When someone insults you, insult them back. But those acts of retaliation don’t reveal a strength of character. They actually display the opposite.
Jesus taught us to refuse to return evil for evil. But then he took things one step further. He said to look for opportunities to return good for evil. Wait, what? We’re actually supposed to return good when someone does evil? According to Jesus, yes. Matthew recorded these words that Jesus spoke:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
—Matthew 5:43–47
Now, we should certainly love people in our inner circle and do good to our friends. But when that’s all we do, did you know there’s nothing really extraordinary about that? After all, “Do not even pagans do that?” For followers of Jesus, a true test comes when we have the opportunity to show kindness to those outside our inner circle—to those different from us. And when it’s possible, we’re to show kindness to those who have even hurt us.
And if the message wasn’t clear, Matthew tells us one more thing Jesus said about how we interact with others:
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
—Matthew 5:48
Jesus wasn’t expecting actual perfection from his followers. The word “perfect” simply means to be complete—to be mature. We are to take our cues from our complete and mature heavenly Father. We show love to our enemies. We pray for those who persecute us. We refuse to return evil for evil. We look for opportunities to return good for evil, because that’s what someone with strength of character would do. And that's what our heavenly Father did for each of us.
