Transcript
Luke chapter 6, beginning to read at verse 27. Luke 6, 27.
But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.
And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return. And your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Here is a red-hot news flash. Mary Ellen and Peter Pavlicek have retained their championship. And believe me, this has got to be just about the most unusual championship in the entire world.
You see, Mary Ellen and Peter have been married to each other for about seventeen years. And according to them, during the course of those years they have done an awful lot of kissing. And so last year on Valentine’s Day, Mary Ellen and Peter Pavlicek won a kiss-a-thon by kissing each other for a grand total of, get this, fifty-eight and one-half hours.
You better believe that the newspaper headline writers had a field day with that one. One headline read, “Practice makes pucker perfect.” Another one read, “Winning couple gives kissing more than lip service.” Ouch. How corny can you get?
But of course last Sunday it was Valentine’s Day again. And once again the Harvey Hotel in Addison sponsored the Great Dallas Kiss-off. And naturally Mary Ellen and Peter Pavlicek were back to defend their championship.
Quite naturally their reputation preceded them. And fourteen couples were originally enrolled in the contest. But nine of them withdrew, mostly because they apparently didn’t want to compete with the champions. But the Pavliceks were not expecting any kind of a cakewalk.
In fact they had a moment of fear, because they saw the couple that had competed with them right down to the wire the preceding year and who had quit at fifty-eight hours and settled for second place. But this couple assured them that this year they were simply there as well-wishers and not as competitors.
The Pavliceks had some other things to worry about too. Right up to contest time Mary Ellen was fighting with colds and allergies and nosebleeds. And they realized that even one cough could break their lip contact and could make them lose their title.
But not to worry. Their stiffest competition came from Hank and Vicki Sica of The Colony. The contest started at about nine o’clock Saturday night a week ago. And about one-thirty a.m. Sunday morning the Sicas quit to go home and relieve their babysitter.
That meant that Mary Ellen and Peter Pavlicek had retained their championship title after kissing each other for less than five hours. And what did they get for their efforts? Well, last year they got a trip to Hawaii. And this year they won a week’s vacation in Jamaica.
And I’m willing to bet that as they walk along the Jamaica beach one of these days, I’m willing to bet that they kiss each other some more. And here’s the delightful footnote, folks. The Harvey Hotel in Addison sponsors this contest in order to raise funds for the American Heart Association.
Doesn’t that make a terrific tagline? Valentine’s Day kissing contest held for the benefit of the human heart. Held for the benefit of the human heart.
And do I need to tell you this morning that there are a lot of things that you can do with your lips? There are a lot of things that you can do with your lives that are for the benefit of your heart and for the benefit of the heart of other people.
You know I’ve got to believe that Mary Ellen and Peter Pavlicek don’t have any heart trouble in their relationship with one another. Two people cannot kiss probably for fifty-eight and a half hours and have a terrific marriage. But the tragedy is that all around us, even in the Christian church, there are men and women who have heart trouble in their relationship with other people.
And I’m not just talking about husbands and wives. I’m talking about having heart trouble in our relationship to our relatives and our friends and our neighbors. Heart trouble in our relationship to the people that we work with and go to school with and even worship with.
I’m willing to guess that ninety-five percent of you out there would be able to name at least one individual who is a regular part of your life that you have trouble getting along with. And because that is true, because that’s the way things are, I want to challenge you this morning to think with me for a few minutes about a very important topic.
Which is also the subject of my message and the title of my message this morning. It is this: You’ve Got to Have Heart. That’s my title. That’s my title. You’ve Got to Have Heart.
Have you ever heard someone say, “That guy doesn’t have a heart”? Or have you ever said to someone, “My, that was a heartless thing to do”? You know, maybe that’s the way we were all thinking this past week when we heard or read about seventeen-year-old Claude Hewitt who was arrested for the murder of an elderly woman named Rosie Nagle who lived out in Oak Cliff.
It was bad enough that her bedroom was ransacked and that her throat was cut. But what was even more horrifying was the fact that when Hewitt was six years of age the Nagles used to take him into the house and watch him while his parents were at work. At times they took him to school and places like that. And many times Mrs. Nagle had loaned him money.
Of course there was another man arrested in the murder as well. And he was charged in that murder. But nevertheless, Claude Hewitt had been a frequent visitor in the Nagle home. And I think all of us are agreed that we are appalled and we are repelled at the thought of someone being involved in the murder of another person who has frequently been kind to them.
And there is something inside of us that recoils at the thought of hostility welling up against that person, even though we don’t know him as an individual, even though we don’t know his victim. And if that is true of people that we don’t even know, how much more is it true of people that we know who don’t like us and who do us wrong?
And must we not confess that the words of Jesus Christ that we read just a few minutes ago are like a rough piece of sandpaper scratching their way against the grain of our human nature? Listen to them again.
Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. And pray for those who spitefully use you.
Mark it well, my friends. As tough as those words are to listen to, as difficult as they seem to be to carry out, they are a splendid prescription for the illnesses of the human heart. And the prescription is this: Meet hostility with the spirit of kindness. Meet hostility with the spirit of kindness.
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a few moments this morning, shall we? I said a few moments ago that we could probably all think of somebody, at least one person who is a regular part of our lives and we have a lot of trouble getting along with them.
Tell me, be honest with yourself on this. How much time do you spend thinking negative thoughts about that particular person? How much of your life is consumed by watering the worthless weeds of bitterness and resentment against somebody else?
Do you know what I’m talking about? We all know what I’m talking about, don’t we? And you realize that what we’re talking about is a serious, serious sickness in the human heart. And the very best antidote to that kind of sickness is a medicine whose ingredients are these: loving, doing good, blessing, and praying.
Quite a few years ago I read a story about a woman who had a very serious case of arthritis. And almost nothing seemed to relieve her suffering. And finally someone suggested to her, I believe it was her doctor, but someone suggested to her that she should try to get rid of the feelings of bitterness and resentment with which she was filled. And when she did that her arthritis improved significantly.
And let’s face it. All of those bitter thoughts, all of that energy that we expend in resentment, it’s doing a whole lot more harm to us than to the person that we resent.
In 1946, Josef Godlewski was a member of a youth gang that roamed the West German countryside and sacked and pillaged it. On one occasion at a very isolated farm Godlewski and his companions shot ten members of the Wilhelm Hemmelman family. Nine of their victims died. And only Hemmelman himself survived after suffering four bullet wounds.
Now I understand that they do not have the death penalty in West Germany. So Godlewski was sentenced to twenty years in prison. And at the end of his prison term the authorities refused to let him go because he had no place to go.
And when Wilhelm Hemmelman heard about that he requested the authorities to release Godlewski to his custody. And in his request he wrote these words. He said, “Christ died for my sins and forgave me. Should I not then forgive this man?”
Remarkable, you say. You couldn’t believe it. Remarkable, rare, you say. Yes, rare. But not nearly as rare as you might think it is.
Did you know that King Henry the Sixth of England had this said about him? That he never forgot anything except injuries that were done to him. Of Cranmer, the famous British leader, this was said: The way to get him to do you a favor is to do him a wrong.
And Ralph Waldo Emerson once said of Abraham Lincoln, “He had a heart as great as the world, but he had no place in it for the memory of a wrong.”
And yes, my friends, the words of Jesus Christ are a high and lofty challenge to His disciples. But by the grace of God they are not impossible. They are not impossible.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the famous evangelist, said this. He said, “Cultivate forbearance until your heart yields a fine crop of it. Pray for a short memory about unkindness.”
Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. And pray for those who spitefully use you.
You think that’s tough? Well wait until you hear what comes next. Because after making the statements that we were just talking about Jesus also said these words.
He said, “To him who strikes you on one cheek offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.”
Wow. Wow. You know quite a few years ago there was a comic strip that ran on the funny pages of America’s newspapers. And the name of the comic strip was Mr. Milquetoast.
Mr. Milquetoast was a real skinny old man. And as I remember it he had a white handlebar mustache. And poor Mr. Milquetoast was everybody’s doormat. I mean they walked all over him every day in the funny papers. And he had the spine of a jellyfish and a physique to match.
And you know there are plenty of people who hear the words of Jesus Christ and they think that Jesus Christ is trying to turn each of His disciples into a Mr. Milquetoast. They think that Jesus is teaching us to be patsies and doormats, jellyfish for every Tom, Dick, and Harry that wants to take advantage of us.
Well that’s not what Jesus has in mind at all. That’s not what He wants us to be. And how do I know that? Because that’s not the kind of person that Jesus was Himself.
You remember the night that the mob came and arrested Him. One of His hearings was before the Jewish high priest whose name was Annas. And Annas was sitting there, or standing there, asking Jesus questions about His disciples and about His teaching.
And this is how Jesus responded to him. He said, “I spoke openly to the world. I was always in the synagogues and in the temple teaching where the Jews always congregate. And I have not said anything in secret. Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard Me. They can tell you what I said.”
And when He answered like that an officer of the high priest who was standing there hit Him across the face. What do you suppose Jesus did? Turn the other cheek? No. He said to that man, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. And if I have spoken well, why do you strike Me?”
Surprised, don’t you agree? Surprise, surprise. When Jesus really had an opportunity to turn the other cheek He didn’t do it.
But wait a minute. Oh yes He did. Oh yes He did. You see when that mob came to arrest Him He let them do it. First of all He could have asked for a legion of angels to rescue Him. But He let them take Him and treat Him with physical and verbal abuse.
And when all the hearings were over He could have said, “Okay people, you’ve had your fun and games. Now I’m walking out of here.” He didn’t, did He? And in a wonderful and sublime way He turned the other cheek.
He allowed them to load the wooden cross on His back. He allowed them to nail Him to that piece of wood. He allowed them to crucify Him between two common criminals. To put it plainly He not only permitted them to arrest Him but He turned the other cheek and allowed them to kill Him.
And listen carefully. The words that we are talking about from the Sermon of Jesus Christ were never intended to be rigid laws of conduct in every situation. Not even Jesus carried them out that way.
These words involve a principle which we need desperately in our lives. A principle which is also a medicine for the ailments of the human heart. And the principle is this: Put no limit on the wrongs you will endure for the good of men. Put no limit on the wrongs that you will endure for the good of men.
And how would I know when I should endure these wrongs? The answer is in verse 31. Look at it.
“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”
Let me illustrate. Suppose after the morning message I walked over here to Sam and I slapped him across the face. I would not want Sam to turn the other cheek. I would also not want him to land a haymaker to my jaw.
What I would really want Sam to do is to say something like, “Zane, that is an awful thing for a preacher to do after preaching a message on kindness.” But now let’s turn the tables.
Suppose Sam walks up to me after the morning meeting and he slaps me across the face. I’m gonna react in three ways. Number one, I’m not going to turn the other cheek. Number two, I’m going to say, “Sam, that’s an awful thing for a guy to do who has just listened to a sermon on kindness.” And number three, I’m going to duck his next shot.
Okay. That’s the way I’m going to treat Sam because that’s the way I would want him to treat me in a similar situation.
But now let’s change the picture altogether. Years ago after I graduated from Dallas Seminary I moved over into South Dallas where our church was located in those days. And my reason for doing that of course was so that I could meet the people in the area, get to know them better, and witness to them in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And it turned out that a large majority of the visitors at my apartment were teenage guys. My apartment was not very far from City Park which was a big congregating area for teenagers in those days. And particularly on Thursday night when they had a dance.
And so I lots of times had teenage guys in my home. And guess what? Sometimes when my teenage visitors left me some of my property left with them. I remember one night I had a bunch of guys in there. And when they were gone so was my cheap portable record player.
I have not seen it go. I had not the slightest idea who had walked out with it. Somebody’s probably enjoying that record player right to this very day if it lasted that long.
But I had a choice, didn’t I? I could say, “These guys ripped me off and I’m not gonna give them a chance to rip me off again. I’m not letting them in my house anymore, any one of the guys who was in here this night.”
I could have done that. But I also could have turned the other cheek. I could also have risked the possibility that I might lose more of my stuff by continuing to have them come to my apartment in order that I might share with them the wonderful truth that you can be saved and go to heaven even if you steal by personal faith in Jesus Christ.
And that’s what I did. And you know why I did it? Because they needed me to do that. And if I had been in their shoes that’s the way I would have wanted a preacher of the gospel to treat me.
And you see, my friends, if we are determined to treat other people the way we ourselves would want to be treated there may be times that we will take a physical blow and be prepared to take it again. There may be times that we will lose a piece of physical property. We’ll risk the loss of another piece of property.
And for sure there are going to be times when we will give to people knowing perfectly well that they’re not going to give it back or pay it back at all. And yes, there may be times when I will know someone has taken something from me and I know who it is. And for the Lord’s sake I will not ask them to give it back.
And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
But wait a minute. I bet you I can hear somebody in this audience saying, “Hey, I like that explanation Zane. You have just given me a marvelous escape hatch from these verses. And I want you to know that I am never going to turn another cheek to somebody that slaps me. And if somebody rips me off they’re not going to get another chance. And I sure as sure am I’m not going to take my hard-earned money and give it to somebody that I know perfectly well is not gonna pay me back.”
You know why, Zane? Because I don’t want anybody to do that to me. So I’m not gonna do it to them. I’m treating them like I want to be treated myself.
Hold it, my friend. Hold it. You don’t get it, do you? You’ve missed the boat completely. You’re still in the railroad station. The train is way down the track.
If that’s the way you’re going to live you’re no better than the unsaved sinners who are everywhere around you. Did you hear what Jesus said? He says, “If you just love those who love you what credit do you get for that? Sinners love those who love them.”
And if you just do good to people who do good to you what credit do you get for that? Sinners do that too. And if you only lend to people from whom you hope to receive something back what credit do you get for that? Sinners lend to sinners hoping to get just as much back in return.
But, says Jesus, but, but, but, love your enemies. Do good. And lend, hoping for nothing in return. Because that’s the way in which you will earn a big reward. And then your behavior will mark you out as a son of God Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.
That’s the bottom line, isn’t it, folks? If I’m only good to people who are good to me I’m no better than any unsaved sinner who’s walking out on those streets and is on his way to hell.
But if I’m good to people who are not good to me my behavior is like the behavior of God Himself.
I love the story about Leonardo da Vinci, the genius and master painter who lived in Italy during the Renaissance. It is said that shortly before he painted his great masterpiece The Last Supper that he had a violent quarrel with a fellow painter.
And so when he started to paint his masterpiece he decided that he would paint the face of this painter with whom he had quarreled into the face of Judas Iscariot. And that’s what he did. He painted the face of Judas Iscariot so everybody that looked at it could tell it was the painter whom Leonardo regarded as his enemy.
But after he did that he came to the face of Jesus Christ. And somehow he just couldn’t do it right. He didn’t seem to be able to make progress. Something seemed to be blocking him. Something seemed to be frustrating him.
And finally Leonardo decided that the reason he couldn’t paint the face of Christ was because he had painted his enemy’s face into the face of Judas Iscariot. And so he took his brush and painted out the face of his enemy. And then he was able to paint the face of Jesus Christ so superbly, so exquisitely that it has been admired and praised down through the centuries.
And listen to me. If you want to paint the face of God your Savior on the canvas of your earthly life you cannot, you cannot paint the face of hostility and resentment and bitterness toward men. God is good to people who don’t deserve it. And we must be too.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, “Be ye therefore merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
One of the most challenging stories that I have ever read or heard is a story that is told about General Robert E. Lee, the famous and skilled general of the Confederate armies during the Civil War. General Lee was reported to have been a deeply religious man.
And on one occasion General Lee was talking to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States. And General Lee was talking about a certain officer in the army. And he was praising him highly.
And there was another officer standing right there who listened to General Lee. And he was utterly astonished at what the general was saying. And finally he couldn’t keep his feelings to himself any longer. And he spoke up and he said, “General, do you realize that the man of whom you are speaking so highly to the president is one of your bitterest enemies? And that he never misses an opportunity to condemn you?”
“Yes,” replied General Lee, “I know. But the president asked for my opinion of him, not for his opinion of me.”
Can you do that? Can you speak well of someone who speaks ill of you? Can you be kind to the unthankful and to the evil? If you can you’ve got a very healthy heart. And people will recognize you as a son or a daughter of God Most High. And they will see in you a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Shall we pray? Father, which of us can stand before these words about which we’ve been talking without deep conviction? Without knowing how often our heart is very far removed from the spirit which they express?
So all we can do this morning is to ask You to help us and to form in our life and in our attitudes, in our words and in our deeds, the spirit of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Help us to be His disciples, we pray, in Christ’s name. Amen.