5 ≠ Let Your Righteousness be More than that of the Scribes and Pharisees

 

Chapter 5 -- Pt 2

 

There is a peculiar quality to the life ≥in the kingdom of God≤ as viewed from our customary perspective. It requires the initiative of both God and us. The life is neither one passively received, nor one lived by our own force of will. It is realized in us today only by some sort of ongoing dependency on Christ. There is no formulaic prescription that we must uncover and then force ourselves to follow. It is inherently ≥alive≤ and has an inherent quality of love in it.

 

Jesusπ picture of moral fulfillment and beauty in the kingdom of the heavens is one of heartfelt love toward all, including those who would be happy if we dropped dead. This love does not consist of acts and projects but is a pervasive condition of vision, joy, and love in which we habitually reside.

 

We are ≥wired≤ to take notice when our will is crossed ≠ our anger is piqued. What we do next is our choice; we can selfishly feed it and let it fester and consume us and the one who crossed us ≠ or not.

 

We are ≥wired≤ to be sexual beings; we naturally take notice of others ≠ our sexual attraction is piqued. What we do next is our choice; we can selfishly feed it and let it distract and consume us and perhaps the other person ≠ or not.

 

Jesus calls us to the life of Godπs kingdom, which acknowledges first the value and integrity of each person before God. In that life, we neither negate nor exploit the other person for our personal advancement or jollies.

 

Matt. 5:28

James 1:12-15

 

When one is inhabited by fantasizing visual lusting, it, like anger and contempt, makes its presence known. It is detectable in oneπs ≥body language≤ and expressions. As a result it has pervasive effects on everyone in the situation, even though it is not ≥acted out.≤ Indeed, being what it is, a condition of the embodied social self, it is always acted out to some degree and simply cannot be kept a private reality. ≥The look≤ is a public act with public effects that restructure the entire framework of personal relations where it occurs.

 

Some fruit: full spectrum of sexual harassment, biases fore and against the ≥attractive≤ and ≥unattractive≤

 

Jesus is not giving us ever more restrictive rules that tie us in knots when we strive to satisfy them. He is illustrating that we need a change of heart; we need Godπs heart, Godπs view of persons, his love for individuals. Then this anger, lust, and manipulation just naturally does not flow from us.

 

In contrast, the reality of human meanness leads to ≥hardness of heart≤ which closes off options for good relations. Then, painful choices like divorce may be the best choice available.

 

Hard hearts may make divorce necessary to avoid greater harm, and hence make it permissible. But kingdom hearts are not hard, and they together can find ways to bear with each other, to speak truth in love, to changeãoften through times of great pain and distressãuntil the tender intimacy of mutual, covenant-framed love finds a way for the two lives to remain one, beautifully and increasingly.

 

A yes that is just yes

 

Swearing is a device of manipulation. We are making use of people, trying to bypass their understanding and judgment to trigger their will and possess them for our purposes. It is a version of a ≥song and dance.≤

 

Kingdom rightness respects the soul need of human beings to make their judgments and decisions solely from what they have concluded is best. It is a vital, a biological need. We do not thrive, nor does our character develop well, when this need is not respected, and this thwarts the purpose of God in our creation.

 

Manipulation of others by language is not part of the rightness of God, and so has no place is the life of an apprentice of Jesus. ≠ Ouch! Valuing others as God does and seeing Godπs kingdom as what is most real dissipates any motivation for manipulating others to get our will accomplished.

 

Responding to personal injury

 

Matt. 5:39-42

 

In the rightness of Godπs kingdom heart, when we are personally injured our world does not suddenly become our injury. We have a larger view of our life and our place in Godπs world. We see God; we see ourselves in his hands. And we see our injurer as more than that one who has imposed on us or hurt us. We recognize his humanity, his pitiful limitations (shared with us), and we also see him under God. This vision, and the grace that comes with it, enables the prayer: ≥Father, forgive them, for they do not really understand what they are doing.≤

 

Thus, ≥turning the other cheek≤, ≥giving the shirt also≤, ≥going the second mile≤, and ≥giving freely≤ become available means of living that express Godπs life.

 

This must not be understood as passivity. In each case I must determine if the gift of my vulnerability, goods, time, and strength is, precisely, appropriate. That is my responsibility before God. To treat Jesusπ words as law, as formula, avoids individual responsibility for decision.

 

Jesusπ teaching is to let us see and join in sharing the character and rightness of God, and that implies ≥taking hits≤ when that is the loving thing to do.

 

Jesus does not call us to do what he did, but to be as he was, permeated with love. The out-working of that dramatically changes the ordinary.