Matthew 5: Lessons from Jesus

Jesus teaches us the eight beatitudes- basically how live a blessed life. In lieu of the ten commandments that tell us what not to do, Jesus tells us what we should do in order to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. He strongly encourages and emphasizes humility, brotherly love, and charity. Love is our motivation. If we live our lives closely to these beatitudes, there is no room to hate- only love.

Reading furthermore into the chapter, Jesus continues to preach the opposite of what was then held to be common ideas & beliefs. Rather than living by the notion of "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth", Jesus says that if someone strikes you on the cheek, let them strike your other cheek as well. Rather than loving your neighbor and hating your enemy, Jesus instructs us to love our neighbors and pray for your enemies. For what is the point of only loving people who already love you back? Even a non-Christian is capable of such thing. As Christians, we live by a higher standard, and that standard is Jesus Christ. "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (verse 42)" I have a hard time fully accepting this command. Typically, I would consider myself as a pretty giving person. If someone asks me for something or ask for a favor, I almost always comply. But then there are some people out there who start to take advantage of that, and eventually it gets harder and harder to keep saying yes to them all the time. I don't think this is what Jesus meant when he said "do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you". But I am a realist, and if you have no more resources to give forth, is that really possible? I guess I'm just a bit confused on this.