I love the K.C. Chiefs!  I have the jerseys to prove it, and Hubby, bless his heart, remembers my fondness for their memorabilia every Christmas and birthday. This makes me happy. This past game, however, in the AFC championship game, I found myself unhappy–a nervous wreck, to be honest–when the score got close.  “What’s wrong with Reid?”  “Pacheco keeps running into a brick wall; why don’t they throw a pass to the sideline for a change?”  My questions prompted Hubby to remind me that Coach Reid just “might” know a little more than I do.

Hmph…                                                                                                                                  So, late in the game, when the Raven’s rookie receiver Zay Flowers ran 54 yards before being tackled by L’Jarius Sneed, one of our players, he stood and straddled Sneed while twirling the football on the ground. (Not good for someone who had been a first-round draft pick and who led the Ravens in catches and receiving yards all season.) I was ultra-impressed with how our Chief did nothing. He let the referee do his job.  Flowers was called for taunting, a 15-yard penalty.            Soon after, with the Ravens down 17-7, Flowers fumbled on the one-yard line when Sneed knocked the ball out of his hands.  And the rest is history.  My phone lit up from girlfriends across the country, celebrating and thrilled that Flowers “got what he deserved.”

Why is it we love payback?  You act cocky; you learn humility.  You punch first; you’re punched harder.  Justice is served.  Amen and Amen.

Matt. 5:38-48 (MSG) disagrees with that attitude when Jesus opposes the “eye for an eye” philosophy: “…Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

You know, how Sneed acted. Not how Flowers or I acted.

Granted, most of us won’t have our injustices played out on national television.  Still, we are hurt by comments people make or how we are overlooked for a promotion or how a teacher is treating our child unfairly or how our spouse just shaved his head, knowing how much his wife disapproves.  (Pick which of these you think applies to me.)  And there’s no one to call “Taunting” and penalize our offender.  So, we sulk silently, carrying our offense like a tattered backpack.  We don’t allow God to do His work, to teach both us and our offenders the lessons needed to be learned.

Maybe it’s time we learn a Sneed style of doing nothing when we are wronged.

Actually, I think Hubby would prefer that.