Two wrongs don't make a right

TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT

Mk. 3:20-35

Jesus' enemies accused Him of being possessed by Beelzebub and casting out devils through the power of Satan.  It is unbelievable how anyone could deny the nobility of Jesus' work!

Jesus was meeting the real needs of people.  Even His most ardent enemies had to admit that.  They accused Him of using devil power to accomplish a divine purpose.  This is an impossibility and their logic was all wrong.

There are some who make the mistake of trying to conquer evil with evil.  It begins in early childhood.  Mothers of small children deal with it every day,  Two children are playing happily together until one strikes the other, and then the other strikes back.  And very shortly they are rolling on the floor in open conflict.  Perhaps we expect this of children, but the tragedy comes when we see adults behaving in this manner.  Then the conflict takes more cruel and vicious forms.  We see it at work when two people try to break the heart and will of each other by means of bitter insults.  We also see it when two nations beat their ploughshares into guns and send their young men off to war.  It is the age-old superstition that somehow evil can be conquered by evil.

When evil is met with evil, nothing is resolved.  All it does is to set up a vicious cycle of devilish deeds.  When two wrongs come together, they never give birth to a right.  When bitterness is met with bitterness, it can only lead to additional bitterness.  When hatred is met with hatred, it sows the seeds of continuing hatred.   On and on the cycle will go until someone somewhere decides to put an end to it.  This is what Jesus was talking about when He spoke of turning the other cheek.  He wasn't speaking about being weak, but about being wise.  He wasn't appealing to cowardice; He was appealing to courage, the courage to fight evil with good.  If two blows must be struck, it is better to take them both, rather than give one.  That is the only way to put a stop to that vicious cycle where wrong is repaid with wrong.

Two wrongs don't make a right.  If our aim in life is to accomplish good, to cast out evil, to leave the world a better place than we found it, then we are going to have to live as Jesus lived.  We must learn to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies, to answer harsh words with soft words, to repay evil with good.  That may sound insane, but it is the only thing that will ever work.  Never in all the history of the world have two wrongs produced a right.

Jesus gave an example of this on the Cross.  While hanging on the Cross Jesus was mocked by the priests, "Come down from the Cross and we will believe you."  If Jesus had come down from the Cross there and then, would they have believed Him?  Most certainty not!  For three years He had tried convincing them that He was the Messiah and what was the result?  They nailed Him to a cross.  Jesus in His wisdom knew that the point had been reached where all He could do was accept the situation and pray for His enemies, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  Many people then, and since would say that this was weakness on Jesus' part.  He should have fought back and destroyed His enemies.  But who won this conflict, Satan or Jesus?  We know Jesus did by rising on the third day.   Jesus overcame evil with good.  He overcame the power of Satan.

Now what about us?  Aren't there times when we are in conflict with others?  Our first inclination is to strike back.  This is no solution to the problem because it only adds fuel for retaliation.  Sometimes this doesn't work.  We may have to accept that nothing we say or do will change our opponent's mind or attitude. We can only resort to praying for our enemies as Jesus did on the Cross.  That too may not change their minds.  Like Jesus we have to accept the situation.  Others may accuse us of being weak.  God knows we are right and that is all that matters.  If others can't see we are right they will most certainly know in the next world that we were right.

Heavenly Father, You put us on this earth for just one purpose and that is to love.  Your Son taught us how to love when He said, "Love one another as I have loved you."  Like Jesus when we have done all in our power to achieve peace, and it appears we have achieved nothing, we can only be the victims of evil.  It is then that no one can ever accuse us of not loving, the very purpose for which You put us on this earth.

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