Matthew 38-42 “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 someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also…If someone forces you to go a mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”O God, you have not made us god, therefore, you do not give us the right of passing judgment on the actions of others. The slap, either verbally or actually, must not be met with retaliation but rather with gentleness and kindness. The Christian is not to respond in kind for kind or else grace would be rendered ineffective. But our human nature wants to do it differently.

We confess that we are not very good at putting Christian ethics into practice. Human relationships are one of our biggest problems. Help us to be the kind of people that are real and true as Christ lives in us and controls our actions. We place ourselves under your authority today.

Amen.