I like the idea of passive resistance like turning the other cheek and going the extra mile when forced to go only one.
Jesus says "do not resist evil" but the Greek word translated as resist had a violent connotation so Jesus is not saying be at peace with evil but to avoid using violence to solve problems.
Violence may work sometimes but not always, think of Iraq and Afghanistan.
And even if non violent resistance doesn't always work that failure to me is preferable to the horrors of war and violence.
We are taught by Jesus to love our enemies. So how can we expect to win hearts at the same time we cause so many to stop beating?
Killing them with kindness is a better way to go. It isn't always easy but the dividends are amazing when you finally reach a breakthrough.
Like dealing with an estranged relative or your teenager. You don't stop loving them.
Dr.King transformed America with this non violent tactic taken from Gandhi. What black people faced during and before the civil rights era has been described as terrorism because white men could use or make up any excuse to beat, mistreat or kill black men.
And for black women, they had to endure any sexual assault white men could dish out.
Black Americans had been taught to deal with these issues for fear of it being worse if they fought back.
But Dr.King taught his community to endure this evil while resisting it without violence because if they defended themselves with violence that would be sold as the justification for even more violence against them.
Dr.King convinced his followers to endure the beating, endure the time in prisons and jails and he did so so well that his followers would sing while imprisoned and the powers that be knew that if these men and women could have joy amidst the mistreatment they faced that there was no victory to be had over them.
No victory because you can't win until your enemies will has been crushed but these men and women who followed Dr.King could not be crushed, they had joyous resilience, they knew peace amidst hellish conditions.
A common argument against not loving your enemies is the Nazi scenario where violence is the only option to fight such tyranny.
But the community Jesus spoke to first was under a Roman occupation and exposed to similar terrorism against them.
When Jesus says "when compelled(forced) to go one mile, go two." Thus the term go the extra mile, Jesus is speaking of a common practice in His time of Roman soldiers forcing Hewish men and children to carry their equipment for them.
Jesus' answer is not to use violence or even to run but to go the extra mile and meet hate with compassion. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that. Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that.
That is the heart of this message Jesus preaches when He teaches us to love our enemies.
In this line of thought love is like medicine, if it doesn't work up the dosage.
It's better to fail in love than to succeed in violence or hate.
It's also a point worth making that when you give in to hate, when you breakdown and get violent, it infects you with the toxicity that leaves you more likely to turn to hate it violence in the future and the more often you choose that path the more toxic you become.
Whereas when you choose love and compassion you become imbued with its peace and resilience every time you choose the right path instead of what seems to be the easier path.
You are less likely to spoil like rotten fruit during the bitter moments of life. When you choose love you retain your sweetness and even become sweeter. You react with softness when confronted with the hard and ugly elements in life.
You can more easily react with love when confronted with hate. You can more easily see the beauty in the world and in life when you choose love rather than dwelling on the negative and sinister elements in the world and in life.
You always have a choice between the negative and the positive, it isn't always easy but it will always be worth it.
We are often told to choose the right but we need to think of it in different terms to help deepen our understanding.
