“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 anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” (Matthew 5:38-41)
Yesterday, I genuinely thought I had coined the line, “If they go low, go higher.” Oh, I felt like calling for drum rolls!
You know those “aha” moments when you feel like a genius? Yes, I was convinced I had come up with something completely original, only to discover it had already been said.👀
Truly, the writer of Ecclesiastes was right when he declared, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). I imagine that with all the wisdom he possessed, each time he thought he had stumbled upon a groundbreaking idea, he would soon realize it had already been thought of before.
Eventually, he must have sighed and concluded, “You know what? There really is nothing new under the sun.”
Anyway, I found myself reflecting on just how low people can sometimes stoop, almost like they are reaching for the very last straw of your patience, hoping you will snap and descend to their level. It is as if they are poking every nerve, waiting for an outburst so they can say, “See? He’s no different from us.”
But descending never truly serves you or anyone for that matter. Even when it might give you a fleeting sense of satisfaction, just enough to make your flesh rise up and give itself a salute, you know deep down it is not worth it.
Because if you have ever tried ignoring the Holy Spirit, you know just how impossible it is. He has a way of meeting us in that final stillness. As you lie down to sleep, thinking you have successfully quieted your conscience, His voice whispers, “Shey you know, that was not your best moment today.”
Even if you were the fastest sleeper in the world, you cannot outrun Him. You will hear that soft voice of conviction right before your snooze off.
If you are like me, you may find yourself trying to justify your actions: “But Lord, she pushed me beyond reason! I just wanted her to taste her own medicine. She has been pressing my buttons like a child with a TV remote, desperately trying to tune to JimJam or Cartoon Network.”
But He responds, “Yes, but you did not have to answer that way. You still have some dying to do.” And He is right. We all do.
Choosing the Higher Path: Learning from David and Jesus
Remember those moments when you had victory over your flesh? When you chose to walk away. You felt like ‘something’ inside definitely held you back. That “something” was Someone; it was the Holy Spirit, cautioning you to take the higher road.
Remember David and King Saul?
Saul continually went as low as it gets, throwing spears at David and hunting him down like an animal because he was filled with jealousy and fear.
Yet each time David had a clear chance for revenge, he chose the higher path, sparing Saul’s life not once but twice (1 Samuel 24:4-7; 1 Samuel 26:7-11).
David refused to descend into bitterness or revenge because he recognized that fighting his own battles was nothing compared to letting God fight for him.
In fact, he went so high that when presented with multiple chances to do more than take a jab at King Saul, he said, “I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”
Would it hurt to go higher? Absolutely. Sometimes it will feel like it hurts more than biting your tongue. But that is the way of Jesus Christ.
He taught us: “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:39).
He also said, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles” (Matthew 5:41).
Lord, have mercy. It is no easy thing to do when all you want is to get under their skin and pay them back in kind. When everything within you wants to strike back, responding with humility and grace feels almost impossible.
But it is always better to stand still and let God fight your battles.
It is better to let God give the replies, for how much can you truly defend yourself? How far can you fight your own battles? In the end, trusting Him to vindicate you is always the higher road and the one that leads to peace.
In due time, God will not only reply; He will exalt you so greatly that you will not need to defend yourself. He will make a loud statement that He is for you and that you belong to Him.
As it is written, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14), and “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord” (Isaiah 54:17).
Remember Jesus Christ when He was being arrested? Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the men who had come to seize Jesus. Yet Jesus still had the presence of mind and the compassion to heal that man (Luke 22:50-51).
Think about it. Despite how low these people went; some of whom had eaten the very bread and fish He miraculously provided. Some even ate twice, being present on both occasions when He fed thousands with just a few loaves and fish. Yet here they were, trying to crucify Him for doing nothing but good.
But Jesus went higher. He chose forgiveness over revenge, mercy over wrath. In fact, He went the highest anyone ever has or ever will. He raised the bar so high that He became the bar Himself!
Today, God has highly exalted Him! As Scripture says, “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
So when they go low, remember your call: go higher, and let God lift you even higher still. Let God handle what you cannot. He alone knows how to turn every provocation into a platform for His glory.
