The Society of the Hook, Line and Sinker

Asymmetry in Response to Evil is the Mark of a Christian

Jesus called for asymmetry in our response to evil Matthew 5:38-39 . Why? The gospel of irrationality has no appeal to rational creatures. Surely, it is not reasonable to expect rational creatures to swallow this irrational recomendation uncritically hook, line and sinker. Is there some explanation for this seemingly irrational recommendation to bestow a boon on evildoers who try to nail us to a cross? Asymmetry in response to evil Matthew 5:38-39 does not just benefit our enemies who try to nail us to a cross. Asymmetry in response to evil Matthew 5:38-39 benefits us as well. Shakespeare hit the nail on the head in The Merchant Of Venice Act 4, Scene 1 when Portia said, "The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." For your own sake, love your enemies. Do it for yourself not for them. Asymmetry in response to evil is the mark of a Christian. God elevated us to a level above the beasts Genesis 1:26-27 (KJV) . Evil attempts to knock us off the exalted level onto which God elevated us. It tries to reduce us from the level of God to the level of the beast - into the most hideous and miserable of loveless beast. Resist. Defy your natural, animalistic tendency to let love slip through your fingers in moments of adversity. Cling to love, hold tight and refuse to let go. By loving our enemies despite the evil they do to us, we maintain the resemblance that we bear to God Luke 6:32-36 (KJV) . When we refuse to let evil poke a hole in our hearts and drain them of love, we distinguish ourselves as godlike instead of beastlike. The only thing that keeps us elevated above the beasts is love. Love is the source of our bouyancy. Without love, we descend, like a deflating balloon, from the level of God to the level of the beasts.