Zero Resistance; Day232

But I say to you, Do not resist the evil man [who injures you]; but if anyone strikes you on the right jaw or cheek, turn to him the other one too.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your undershirt (tunic), let him have your coat also.  And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two [miles]. Mat 5:39  – 41

“There is a deep shrewdness in these words.  Jesus has reached to the very core of anger, pride and vengeance.
Machiavelli said that “men avenge slight insults, not grave ones.”  How often have you seen a feud started over the most trivial of things?  One person strikes;  the other takes vengeance.  The first takes even greater vengeance in return, and the cycle grows until bloodshed or worse results.  It is this spiral of escalating wrath and violence that Jesus commands us to break—at its very start.
These words also point up a difference between the Law and the Gospel.  In the Law, God corrects faults.  In the Gospel, Christ seeks to remove their causes.  He would vaccinate you with peace to prevent war.
Such actions are a very high example of loving our neighbor.  When such feuds start, it is most common that at least one of the combatants is making a fool of himself.  He’s taking big vengeance over a small wrong.  Is it not an act of love to prevent someone from making a fool of themselves?  We do this by breaking the vengeance cycle.
Vengeance, in any real sense, is not ours anyway.  “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.”  To take vengeance upon someone is to take what belongs to God.  Do you think He will look kindly upon someone who steals from Him?
The modern battlefield no longer allows us to determine the army in which a particular soldier belongs by his uniform.  Gone are the days of bright red coats.  But we can still tell which side the soldier is on—by the weapon he uses and where he aims it.  To render evil for evil is to become evil.  To pick up the weapons of Satan is to join forces with Satan.  To pick up the weapons of God is to join Him, and His weapons are indeed powerful.
Christ’s saying is a hard one.  It will cause his people to suffer, and to appear weak in the eyes of the world.  But suffering you will have anyway in this world;  this merely allows you to choose a particular sort of suffering.  Such suffering for Christ is rewarded by God.  We appear weak, but remember that God chose the weak and the powerless as his messengers so that no one could mistake the power of the message.
It takes more courage to appear a coward than to be one.  We are the ambassadors of reconciliation.  It’s a full time job, and no time off for good behavior.  Let us do it willingly and well.”

MIT (Most Important Task)
1. 5Mile Bike . 
2. Setup NI Labview Test Bench
3. Read-Fifth Discipline, p106 [info]
4. Read-Transforming the Mind, p175 [ebook]
5. Read-Exchange2007 Training Kit, p92 [ebook]

0500, Breakfast; journal; 5Mile Bike
1000,
1200, Lunch
1800, 
1900, Dinner
2000, Read
2200, Sleep