Going the Extra Mile
One
Going the Extra Mile
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Going the extra mile”? Do you know where it comes from? It’s actually a reference to the Sermon on the Mount. It’s when Jesus is telling people how to live the fullness of the Gospel, how to be perfect. And in the middle of those instructions, He throws out this one, “If your brother urges you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles.”
What does that mean? If someone asks you to go on a one-mile walk, go for a two-mile walk?
What’s the takeaway there?
Two
The Gift of Presence
There are some other radical teachings Jesus gives in Chapter 5 of Matthew during the Sermon on the Mount. That’s where Jesus tells his disciples to turn the other cheek. It’s where He says you should give money to those who ask. It’s where He says if somebody wants your cloak, you should give it to Him and then throw your tunic along into the bargain.
In other words, the end of Matthew Five is where Jesus says we have to be astonishingly generous to people in terms of both giving and forgiving. But Jesus’ instructions about walking two miles seem a little different from these other instructions. After all, when you go on a walk with someone, you’re not forgiving them anything. And you’re not giving them anything like money or clothing, right?
Wrong. You’re giving them something much more valuable than money or clothing. You’re giving them your time. You’re giving them your companionship. And that’s something that can be really hard to give.
Three
The Frustration of Interruption
Again, Christ’s statements about turning the other cheek or giving somebody both your cloak and your tunic are radical. They’re extreme. It’s an extraordinary thing to say. But why is it so extraordinary to say, “If someone asks you to accompany them for a while, do it? If somebody asks you to go for a walk with them, say yes.”
Why is that such a big deal? The answer is: it’s a big deal because it’s really hard to interrupt our own projects just because another person wants to hang out. If there’s like some medical emergency, or somebody needs help moving, well, we’re usually willing to pitch in for that sort of practical thing. But when you have things you’d like to get done, things that matter to you, and somebody unexpectedly shows up at the house, or stops by your office, just to talk , it’s hard not to resent that.
It’s an interruption. Just like somebody asking you to accompany them on a mile-long walk is an interruption. And Jesus is saying, if you want to be my disciple, you have to be willing to let people interrupt your projects because they need you to be there for them.
That is a radical attitude. It’s the attitude we are supposed to have.
Four
Why Spending Time with Others is Worth the Interruption
It’s hard to be interrupted just in order to spend time with other people. But actually, it makes sense that being there for people when they need you is really the most important thing. After all, why are your projects so important?
If they’re just important for some private reason of your own, then of course it makes sense that Jesus would ask you to give up selfish concerns in order to love your neighbor. Even if your projects are important because they somehow help others, well, they probably are only going to help others indirectly somewhere down the line. Whereas being there for someone who needs you now, well, that’s helping a person directly and immediately, here and now.
But actually, a lot of time the interruptions we resent aren’t even interruptions of our projects. They’re just interruptions of our entertainment, a movie, or a book, or an article or video we’re checking out on our phone. Those kinds of interruptions are actually good for us. Because we’re not down here to entertain ourselves. We’re down here to serve the Lord by loving our neighbor.
If our neighbor wants to talk while we were hoping to relax, then so be it. They will be plenty of time to relax when we’re dead. For now, if someone wants a companion on a mile-long walk, we should make ourselves available. In fact, we might offer to go for a two-mile walk.
Five
Being Proactive in Your Generosity of Time
Again, Jesus doesn’t just say, “If someone urges you to walk a mile with him, say ‘Yes’”. Jesus says, “If someone urges you walk a mile with him, walk two miles.”
In other words, and this is the key takeaway, don’t limit the generosity of your time to what someone else asks of you. You need to be proactive about being generous with your time. Maybe you get the sense that someone would benefit from your friendship, from just having someone to talk to.
Count that as them asking for one mile, then you go the extra mile: You invite them over for dinner. You see if they want to get a coffee. And, if you want to follow the Lord literally, you can invite them to go on a walk sometime.
That’s what a Christian does. When they get the sense that someone could use some accompaniment, then they offer to accompany. They make themselves more available than the other person was even planning on asking for. That is radical. That is extreme. And that’s what it means to live the Sermon on the Mount.