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Preached on 04-25-99

RESIST NOT EVIL

A Sermon by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist evil...." (Matt. 5:38-39)

IF WE ARE TO BE HAPPY IN LIFE it is important that we bring ourselves to accept fully and without question the supremacy of Divine law. The laws laid down in the Word are not mere suggestions to be accepted or rejected on personal whim. Rather, they are the laws of our infinitely loving and wise Father, who knows what will make us happy. If we break these laws, we inevitably bring unhappiness upon ourselves. When this happens, we have only ourselves to blame. The Lord does not say, "Do this or I will make you unhappy." Rather, because He wills our happiness above all, He teaches us the laws of happiness. He tells us what will make us happy. When we disregard what He says, then the unhappiness which inevitably follows sooner or later, is a direct result of our own pride and stubbornness. We have refused to do what will make us happy.

Divine laws are universal and eternal. It other words, they are always true and they never fail. Indeed, essentially speaking, Divine laws can never be broken. Man-made laws, on the other hand, vary from country to country and from one age to another. What is more, human laws can be and often are broken. Human governments must inevitably be concerned not only with the making of laws, but with the problems of enforcing them as well.

Divine law, though, is in essence unbreakable. Of course the Word talks of disobedience to Divine law. But to disobey this law, that is, to ignore it, does not render the law ineffective. It still applies, and therefore the fact that we have chosen to ignore it will have inevitable consequences.

It is in this way that we should view the law contained within our text. It is a text which speaks of two aspects of one unbreakable Divine law. It talks of what happens when we ignore this law, and of what happens when we pay attention to it. In one instance the consequences will be sad, and in the other instance they will be happy. Either way, though, there will be consequences, because the law is universal.

When the Lord commands us "not to resist evil," He is, then, speaking of a universal law. His words might at first seem puzzling. On the surface they might seem to be advocating an extreme and impractical form of pacifism. "But I tell you not to resist evil. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." In the light of the Writings, though, the true meaning of this becomes clear. The Lord is not forbidding people from defending themselves and their rights. Rather He is talking about something quite different. He is talking about revenge. Indeed, He refers directly to what is sometimes called the lex talionis or law of retaliation or revenge in the Old Testament. "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist evil..." The Lord is talking of the need to avoid a vengeful spirit if we are to come into charity.

Involved in this text, then, is what is often called the Golden Rule, which the Lord speaks of later on in His Sermon on the Mount: "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Mt. 7:12). This, the Writings teach, is a law of heaven and thus of the church. It is a law of Divine order. And the law is this -- that what you do to others will return upon yourself (see AC 9049:1). When the Lord tells us to do to others what we would wish them to do to us, He is not simply telling us what He wishes us to do. He is telling us a fact of spiritual life -- and this fact is that what we do to others will be done to us.

This is a heavenly law. Heaven is happiness, and happiness in heaven comes from the fact that as we do good to others, an even greater affection for good flows into us (AC 9049:1). This is what the Lord intends for all of us -- wonderful, indescribably happiness, which results from the good which flows into us as we do good. This law is heaven itself. It therefore follows that to reject this law is to reject heaven. To refuse good to others is to refuse good and happiness for ourselves. The law of heaven then becomes the law of misery. Evil intended for others inevitably turns back upon ourselves. To hurt another man is to hurt yourself.

This is the origin of the lex talionis, the law of revenge, of the eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth, spoken of in the Old Testament. Under Israelitish law, a man was punished with the evil he intended for another. It sounds a harsh law, and indeed the Old Testament speaks of very harsh things indeed. Yet this law of revenge is essentially the same as the Golden Rule, and is derived from it. The law of the spiritual world is that what you do will return upon you. When good is done, then this law is the law of heaven. When evil is done, then the same law applies, but it then becomes the government of hell, in which evil is meted out to the doer of evil.

Both aspects of this law are illustrated in our lessons from the Old Testament. When the poor widow shared what little food she had with Elijah, she was blessed with a miraculous supply of food which did not run out. The good she did returned to bless her. The Egyptians, on the other hand, by pursuing the Israelites across the Red Sea so as to destroy them, sealed their own fate. The evil they intended came back upon themselves.

It is because of the way in which evil returns upon the doer of evil, that it is so important that we do not resist evil, and by this the Lord means resisting evil with evil. Now obviously we must defend ourselves against evil. And most certainly we must fight and resist evil within ourselves. But we should not take revenge nor wish to take revenge. We should not wish evil upon the evil, and this for two reasons. First of all, evil will come upon those who are evil, quite apart from our wishing it upon them. More to the point, if we wish evil upon others, then this is itself evil, and, being evil, it will return as evil upon ourselves.

Those who do evil hurt themselves. We should never forget this. Evil is futile. The only power evil has is to hurt those who love it. It can never really harm what is good. Only good can come to those who love good, and therefore no harm can come to them from evil people.

This might not seem in accord with common experience. In the world around us, evil people -- criminals -- frequently do harm to good and innocent people. But this harm is natural, not spiritual. An evil person cannot bring permanent harm to the spirit of a person who loves good. On the natural plane it is important and necessary that we be prepared to defend ourselves, and, especially, to defend the innocent, from evil actions. On the spiritual plane, though, no resistance is necessary.

Consider the angels. The devils and satans of hell hate the angels. They would dearly love to destroy them. But they can do nothing against them. From the Lord the angels possess the most incredible power. For example, just by an effort of will and by looking, the angels can overthrow an entire mountain occupied by evil (HH 229). And so, in the spiritual world, the Lord's injunction not to resist evil can be fully applied. The angels don't resist evil -- they don't have to, for it is powerless against them. In many ways the evil spirits seek to destroy them, but they do not and cannot succeed.

Some of the methods of evil spirits are outlined in what the Lord says following our text. "Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." Suppose someone slaps your face. To be hit on the cheek is without doubt humiliating, and tends to provoke a violent reaction. It is similar if somebody viciously attacks something or somebody very dear to you. When this happens, it feels just as bad as if you had actually been slapped in the face. This is how the devils as it were slap, or try to slap, the faces of the angels. They attack and blaspheme the interior truths the angels hold so precious. But the angels are not angered, hurt, or harmed in any way. The devils are powerless against them. There is no need for the angels to resist them, for, as soon as the devils attack them, then these devils are set upon by other devils who are allowed to punish them. So it is that the angels, when attacked, are not angry, but saddened at the punishment their attackers must undergo. And such punishments cannot be prevented. If devils were protected from the consequences of their own evil, there would be no stopping them.

Similar things are involved in what the Lord then says about those who sue someone at law for his coat, and about those who compel him to walk a mile. "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two" (Matt. 6:40-41). These are spiritual attacks by the evil, and they need not be resisted, for the evil are powerless to hurt the good.

This is the case, internally, even in the natural world. The Lord continually protects what is good. Of course, natural harm can befall those in good. And on the natural plane, it is important, as we have noted, that those responsible for evil be repelled and also brought to justice. But, if you love good, and love what is true, then, within yourself, you cannot be harmed. Whatever people do to you, if your love is genuinely spiritual, this love cannot be harmed. Even in the midst of terrible tragedy, a genuine love for good and truth will not be destroyed, but will, in fact, continue to grow. Deep within yourself there will be peace, contentment, and happiness, though it is true that at times such inner peace may be deeply hidden indeed. But such peace is still there, giving strength and solace amidst whatever tribulations the world might bring. Those who love and do good will inevitably receive good things within their spirits.

On the other hand, when a person does not love what is good and true, when he is selfish and thinks only of himself and his own reputation and comfort, he brings evil upon himself. Even if he appears to prosper in a worldly sense, he is not blessed. Inwardly he has cursed himself. Deep down he is always restless, always frustrated, always burning. He is not happy inside, however much external success he might have.

Therefore we should not hate the evil. We should not burn with indignation against them, and wish evil upon them in a spirit of revenge. Of course we can and should be zealous in our efforts to protect what is good and true. But to burn with resentment and indignation is itself the beginning of hatred and revenge, and this is evil.

This is how evil people can indeed hurt us. If we allow ourselves to burn against them within our minds, then they have encouraged us in evil. And if we allow evil to possess our minds in this way, our fate will be similar to theirs. To be indignant and unnecessarily angry at others has the potential of bringing about our own spiritual destruction.

Now obviously there will be times when the external man becomes inflamed and agitated at real or imagined threats by others. Sometimes such fire is good -- it may proceed from a genuine love to protect what is precious. Sometimes, though, such anger and agitation is evil. The difference is to be found in the internal man. What do we really want within ourselves? Do we really enjoy the thought of harm coming to others? Do we wish evil upon others simply so that we might see them suffer?

If we notice this within ourselves, then let us beware. Do not forget that the Divine law cannot be broken. What you wish upon others will come true for yourself. If you burn against others, you will, quite simply, consume yourself. It is an inevitable consequence. If you step off a cliff, you will be injured or killed upon the rocks below. If you will harm upon others, then harm will come upon yourself. The Divine law will not have condemned you or hurt you. You will have hurt yourself!

The Divine law is for the sake of blessing. We receive back that which we do. And this truly is a wonderful thing. If we set our hearts on love and truth, and seek the genuine spiritual welfare of other people, then heaven itself will flow into our hearts and increase still further our love for what is right and what is true. There will then be no limit to the growth of heaven within our minds. There will be no limit, for in one sense we do not receive what we do. We actually receive more. The blessings we receive from the Lord in fact far exceed the blessings we bring to others. To do good means to receive even greater good.

This is heaven -- a state of limitless blessing -- in which there is no end to the good, the blessing, the happiness, the angels bestow upon one another -- for the more they give the more they receive.

This is the Golden Rule, the law of heaven and earth, a law which can never fail, for it is the law of the Lord's love. His love blesses and protects all who live according to the laws of happiness.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

Amen.

Lessons: Exod. 14:21-28; I Ki. 17:8-16; Matt. 5:38-48; AC 8223:1.