Walking Two Miles

Sometimes my mind works weird, doing something not related to something else will sometimes teach me about that something else.
I was walking down the road yesterday, the sun was beating down from the clear sky, dry and warm, I was wearing flip flops and my feet were getting dusty.  It made me think of Bible times, this in turn made me think of the part in Matthew 5 which says that if someone compels you to walk a mile, go with him two. My thoughts immediately shot down that path.    

Now I'm the type of person that doesn't like anyone compelling me to do anything.  At that time in history a Roman soldier could make you carry his gear for a mile and for the proud Jew that must have been hard.  Of course, you could always grit your teeth and just do it, and that's what was probably expected, to just do it.

And that's how I felt I've been.  Doing the right thing is more than just not doing the wrong thing.  So to fit the analogy, I, at this point in my life, would have emotionlessly carried the soldiers gear for a mile instead of say, trying to knock him out and run away.  Here, Jesus is saying that step one is not enough.  There's a step two of "going the extra mile".  Not only doing the right thing, but going above and beyond the call of duty.

As I walked I immediately thought of my attitude towards business, particularly my family's.  I'm a big fan of not being taken advantage of by other people.  I believe in charging a price that gives us a good profit and sticking to it.  No discounts, no handouts.  No one ever helped us out in our ventures, there's really no reason to do so for others at our own expense.  But if I apply the two mile principle, it's obvious that I'm just thinking like the world.

It's not enough for me to just to be obedient, fair, attentive and never bother anyone.  Submission, generosity, rapt investment, and constantly trying to pour blessing into other's lives is walking two miles, it's giving my coat and cloak when only my coat was required.

And as usual I'm telling the little pessimist in my head to shut up and sit down because if those are my marching orders, I know I'll be fine.