Matthew 5:38

 Matthew 5:38 says, Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:  Verse thirty-nine adds, But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  Jesus then began to speak about the law of retribution which said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  This in itself limited the amount of retribution one could take, since a person could do no more to the one who had harmed them than had been done to them.  Jesus limited this even further, saying that as a Christian if someone slapped or hit you one the right cheek that you were to turn the other cheek as well.  I believe that what Jesus was saying is that we are not to demand that those that harm us are to be equally harmed, but that we are to be ruled by God's love, and forgive as He forgives us.  Verse forty states, And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  Jesus told His followers that if they were sued for their coat and lost to give them their cloak also.  I believe this means that they were to not put too much importance on material things.  Verse forty-one declares, And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  I believe that at that time Roman soldiers could compel people to carry their things for a mile, and Jesus said that Christians were to be willing to do even more than they were compelled to do.  This is where we get our expression to go the extra mile, but we as followers of Christ need to not only know the expression, but we need to be willing to live by it.  Verse forty-two says, Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.  Jesus tells us that we are to be generous to those who ask us for help.  If we are at times taken advantage of, that is not our concern, but God's I believe.  Since God really owns all that we have, then if someone takes advantage of us, who are His followers, then they are really taking advantage of God.  We should not look for reasons to not help others, but should help whenever we can while giving God the glory for doing so.  Verse forty-three declares, Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  As followers of Christ, we seem to be pretty good at the hating our enemy part of this, but I am not too sure how much we rally love our neighbor, but this was not what Jesus taught.  Verse forty-four adds, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  I would have to ask if we really love our enemies today, do good to them that persecute us, and most especially pray for them.  A lot of what I see posted by Christians on social media does not seem to support this idea.  Verse forty-five continues, That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  If we want to be known as one of God's children, then Jesus tells us that we will love our enemy.  We are not really going to want those who are our enemies to come to salvation if we hate them and want them to be punished.  Jesus said that God allowed the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, and if God does not punish the unjust by withholding the rain, then who are we to attempt to punish them.  Verse forty-six asks, For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  If we as Christians love only those who love us, then are we really any better than people who do not believe in God?  Verse forty-seven continues, And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  Jesus asks if we only show respect to our fellow believers how are we any different than others.  Verse forty-eight declares, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  I believe that when Jesus calls for us to be perfect it means in our faith in God and in following His guidance, because we all fall short of perfection.