The Second Mile Way of Living

Jesus often taught counterintuitive truths and principles: “Give and you will receive,” and “Keep your life and you’ll lose it, lose your life and you’ll save it,” and “If you want to be the greatest you must become the servant of everyone.” I’m convinced that most of Jesus’ teachings caused the hearers to scratch their heads in confusion. One of the counterintuitive principles that Jesus taught is “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matthew 5:41 ESV) I bet there were more than a few raised eyebrows from angry, frustrated, and irate people who heard Jesus' teaching. “Really Jesus? Someone FORCES me to go one mile, and I’m supposed to volunteer to go two miles with him?” Jesus' statement requires some details to understand what he was saying. In Roman occupied Israel, a Jewish Roman law required someone to carry the belongings of a Roman soldier who demanded it but only for one mile. Jesus multiplied the one-mile requirement to two miles. Jesus was saying, “If a soldier demands you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles.” Refusing to carry the pack, even one mile is intuitive, volunteering to carrying a pack two miles is counterintuitive. Fully committed followers of Jesus are “second mile people.” Jesus’ way is to travel the extra mile unless the first mile is immoral, unethical, or disobedient to God’s way. If it would be wrong for a person to go one mile, then obviously the second mile would also be wrong. If authorities demand that a Jesus follower, pastor, or teacher stop speaking against abortion, that would violate God’s standard and the demand would call for civil disobedience. It would be wrong, disobedient, and immoral to help a woman abort her baby. If one mile is wrong, then the second mile is also wrong. If in the current context, wearing a mask and social distancing is the required one mile. What is the second mile? Wearing a mask without complaint? Are you seeking to live as a “second miler?” The first mile is obedience. The second mile is the Jesus’ way.

Living in the Messy Middle

Over the last few months, I have written some thoughts out about an area of thinking I’m concerned about. I have deleted a few rough drafts. I’ve started over and then trashed my work. I will try it again. Contradictory and polarizing ideas and philosophies are unavoidable and are found in areas such as commerce, environmental struggles, race, family structures, conservative and progressive politics. It is difficult to live a healthful life on the excesses of ideas. An honest and healthy thinker can comprehend a variety of levels of thought and ideas in their mind concurrently. Unhealthy thinkers struggle to hold different levels of thought at the same time. They are unsettled by the tension two opposing thoughts create. A popular story line regarding “Black Lives Matters” and “Blue Lives Matter” is that a person can only be for one of the statements and not both. Why? Are people so superficial that someone must be a supporter of one or the other? The two statements are not mutually exclusive and are only contradictory when people are unable to live with the tension. People of color have been discriminated against, legislated against, “red lined” and slain. History is full of injustices against people of color. The truth is unavoidable, it is uncomfortable to admit, and it creates tension. The only way to deny the tension is to deny the truth. “Black/Colored Lives Matter.” Deep down, no one wants to live in a world without law enforcement. A culture without law enforcement erodes towards lawlessness, chaos and anarchy. Without law enforcement innocent people suffer, inequity is carried out on the powerless, and fear becomes the ruling emotion. “Blue Lives Matter.” Colored Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter are not in conflict except when people want to generate conflict. Those two thoughts are not mutually exclusive except when people’s thinking can only hold one thought and therefore choose one or the other. Two opposing thoughts describe the tension of life. The area of tension is sometimes referred to as the messy middle. Jesus described living and thriving in tension when he told the disciples ““Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 ESV) We are instructed to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Why are the People and Nations of the World In Turmoil?

As history unfolds and one thing after another shocks the world, I often think of words written 3,000 years ago. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” (Psalms 2:1 ESV) Why do countries continue to fight against countries? Why do people conceive and plan vain solutions to world problems? What is the root of these conflicts? What is the point of one idea piled upon another idea until the weight of these ideas squash people? The psalmist answered the question: “The kings of the earth set themselves … against the Lord.” They cry out: “Let us free ourselves from the slavery to God.” Have you heard any of these ideas? “We don’t need God.” “God is a myth created by cultures in an ignorant time.” “The belief in God is a cultural construct for weak people and used as a tool of oppression.” “Belief in a moral God involved in human affairs is an invention to regulate people.” A Google search: “Is god a social construct” displays 68 million returns! Sounds like “Let us free ourselves from the slavery to God.” The belief that people can do whatever, whenever, with whoever, for any reason or no reason and not answer to anyone is not a new idea. The Apostle Paul mentioned a famous saying “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” as an excuse to “party on” in A.D. 60. A social construct is a social construct, and every social construct has more holes than a slice of swiss cheese. The social construct of a transcendent god is as pointless as the social construct of the “rule of law.” If people only answer earthly rulers, everyone is ultimately free to determine for themselves what is “right” and “wrong,” “moral” and “immoral.” Why are the people and nations of the world in turmoil? Because humanity is crying out, “let us free ourselves from slavery to God.” The psalmist instructed the rulers of nations: “Kings be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.” Psalm 2:10-11 Personal turmoil arises when people say to themselves, “I will free myself from the slavery to God.” Personal peace comes to those who “Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.”

Spiritual Face Covering and Spiritual Social Distancing

I bet you are tired of social distancing and face coverings! Social distancing and face coverings are not natural. At times, both seem pointless and contradictory. I’ve been thinking about “information and idea viruses” and I’ve been thinking about “spiritual, emotional, psychological and mental social distancing” and “face coverings.”

“Information viruses”, or ideas or posts that aren’t true, or the veracity of which isn’t verifiable, originate with “liberals”, “conservatives”, people of “faith” and “atheist” and they thrive on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram and other social media posts. Information viruses discuss COVID-19, BLM, Blue Lives Matter, face coverings, restrictions on churches, should school open, should school be remote or a hybrid, do children spread COVID-19, etc., etc.

“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8 NLT) Paul’s instruction describes “spiritual, psychological, mental and emotional, social distancing.” Too often people social distance their thinking but do not socially distance what they adopt. Too often if something is “viral” and emotionally tugs at the heart the post gets shared. Discerning what is true and false is a missing practice in people’s lives.

Discernment is asking the questions, “Is this true? Is this honorable? Is this right and pure? Spiritual, emotional, psychological, and mental social distancing should be the response to information viruses. Keep your distance from non-sense! Research the source of the post. Sift through the post. Accept what is acceptable and reject what is questionable, or that comes from a questionable source.

We are also directed to use face coverings, or filters, for our speech. Face coverings protect the other person from my germs; they are not for my protection. “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT) Spiritual, emotional, psychological, and mental face coverings on my speech are for protecting the other person.

Put on your “spiritual face covering,” and practice “spiritual social distancing.”