Be Counterintuitive
Bird lovers invent all kinds of ingenious methods to foil squirrels in their attempts to steal bird seed from feeders. Squirrels invent all kinds of ingenious methods to get around them. You look at one of these furry little beasts leaping from the ground trying to reach a suspended feeder and you’d think that, after a while, he’d give up and go away. But no, he suddenly turns his back on the feeder, runs to the tree, climbs to the branch on which the rope holding the feeder is tied, climbs down it, reaches around, hangs upside down and successfully commits larceny. Meanwhile the clever human witnessing all this is amazed that the squirrel is smart enough, and agile enough, to do this. And, by the way, once one squirrel is doing this, others quickly follow.
People, like thieving squirrels, are remarkably clever at figuring out ways to “beat the system.” By that I mean breaking God’s law and thinking they’ve gotten away with it. We follow our instincts and intuition and assume that we’ve gained the enviable position of having what we want while justifying ourselves to God.
However, Jesus pointed out what seems to make sense to us, what is humanly intuitive, does not take us very far with God. In one passage alone, He offers counterintuitive ideas to his audience on five different topics. In each case He uses a formula which goes like this: “You have heard it said (and he explains what people tend to figure out for themselves or learn by watching others), but I say to you (and He then sets out God’s view on the issue). We’ll look quickly at these.
• When someone wrongs us, we feel acting out our hate is justifiable. People understand that murder is wrong, but Jesus said that the hate in your heart which prompts murder is just as wrong. (Matthew 5:21)
• When we see an attractive person, we feel that acting on our impulses is justifiable. People understand that adultery is wrong, but Jesus said that the lustful desires which precede illicit sexual relationships are just as wrong. (Matthew 5:27)
• When telling the truth might incriminate us, we feel that lying is justifiable. People understand that certain oaths can be used to bind yourself to telling the truth, but Jesus said anything less that all the truth all the time is wrong. (Matthew 5:33)
• When we feel that we have been insulted or harmed in some way, we feel that getting even is the right thing to do. People understand that eye-for-an-eye retribution is a normal human response, but Jesus said that we should leave justice to God. (Matthew 5:38)
• When we look at all of the people we know, we find ourselves loving those who love us and hating those who hate us. People understand that loving your friends and hating your enemies is a reasonable standard for social behaviour, but Jesus said that we should love everyone, even our enemies. (Matthew 5:43)
As we seek to be like Jesus, we must abandon the natural intuitive responses that we have to the other people and the situations in our lives. Being like Jesus will prompt us to move into unexplored spiritual territory where we prove the power of God in us.
