Be Extraordinary
You might be familiar with the words of Jesus, “Do to others as you would like them to do to you” (Luke 6:31). Some call this the golden rule. Jesus didn’t stop there. “Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you” (Luke 6:27-28). The English author and philosopher, G. K. Chesterton, reflecting on these words, said that “Christianity isn’t just difficult – it’s impossible.”
Why is it impossible? This kind of behaviour seems impossible because it goes against the way the world works. We live in a quid pro quo world. Nothing is for nothing. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. If someone does good for me, I’ll do good for them. If someone harms me, I have the freedom, maybe not to harm them, but at least to get my own back.
This kind of behaviour offends against our sense of what is fair and just. As Australians, we believe very strongly in a “fair go” for all. But how is it fair if I do the right thing while others can treat people badly, only looking out for number one, and not only get away with it but seem to prosper. How is it right if I am the injured party and the guilty person gets off? Aren’t we rewarding them for doing wrong. Aren’t we saying that actions have no consequences. No wonder Chesterton said that the whole idea of doing good to others is not just difficult, it’s impossible, because there’s nothing to make to other party play by the same rules. Do this and we will lose out every time.
None of this seems right, until we realise that it’s exactly how God treats us all the time. We spend so much of our time at war with him, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We are to love our enemies precisely because this is what God always does for us. Christian love is not an emotion, it’s an act of will. We may not feel it, but we can choose to do it. And it’s not selective. It means seeking the highest good for others, not just those we like or who are good to us, but even those who hate us. Christian love is about going way beyond normal human ways of interacting, going beyond the expected, and doing the extraordinary. It’s about being like God himself. That’s what God wants of each of us. He wants us, he wants you, to be extraordinary.
Neil Percival
Why is it impossible? This kind of behaviour seems impossible because it goes against the way the world works. We live in a quid pro quo world. Nothing is for nothing. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. If someone does good for me, I’ll do good for them. If someone harms me, I have the freedom, maybe not to harm them, but at least to get my own back.
This kind of behaviour offends against our sense of what is fair and just. As Australians, we believe very strongly in a “fair go” for all. But how is it fair if I do the right thing while others can treat people badly, only looking out for number one, and not only get away with it but seem to prosper. How is it right if I am the injured party and the guilty person gets off? Aren’t we rewarding them for doing wrong. Aren’t we saying that actions have no consequences. No wonder Chesterton said that the whole idea of doing good to others is not just difficult, it’s impossible, because there’s nothing to make to other party play by the same rules. Do this and we will lose out every time.
None of this seems right, until we realise that it’s exactly how God treats us all the time. We spend so much of our time at war with him, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We are to love our enemies precisely because this is what God always does for us. Christian love is not an emotion, it’s an act of will. We may not feel it, but we can choose to do it. And it’s not selective. It means seeking the highest good for others, not just those we like or who are good to us, but even those who hate us. Christian love is about going way beyond normal human ways of interacting, going beyond the expected, and doing the extraordinary. It’s about being like God himself. That’s what God wants of each of us. He wants us, he wants you, to be extraordinary.
Neil Percival