Frankly, Scarlet, I Give a Gift. (Part II)

December 27th, 2006

Frankly, Scarlet, I Give a Gift. (Part II)

Matthew 5:38-42
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Matthew 5:42 Give: The Greek word is didōmi which means to give. That is on the most basic meaning. Going deeper, it means to give something to someone of one’s own accord to give one something, to his advantage. It also means to bestow a gift. Here’s a list of some other meanings:

• To grant, give to one asking, let have


• To supply, furnish, necessary things


• To give over, deliver by reaching out, extend, present


• To deliver by a writing


• To give over to one’s care, entrust, commit


• Something to be administered


• To give or commit to some one something to be religiously observed


• To give what is due or obligatory, to pay: wages or reward


• To furnish, endue

There is plenty more. I could give something to someone when they ask for it, and it would be to my advantage. Maybe. I really have a hard time wrapping my mind around that one. How can it be to my advantage to give to someone who is bold enough to ask? I can spout off a truck load of “what-ifs” on this one, but to be honest with you, these generally don’t happen (IE: Someone running up to ask for a house, car, $1,000 dollars, etc.).

I wouldn’t really know what to do in those situations, but I do understand that the Bible says to get advice and many advisors make victory sure. If someone asks for your car, get advice first (and not from me, please! I don’t know the answer to that one.). But here is something that I have figured out, at least from this passage and the Greek background. I think of it this way, have I not struck the cheek of Christ on both his right AND left? I have taken his cloak and tunic. I’ve made him walk more than two miles. The amazing thing about this whole picture: I’m forgiven.

There’s still more, though. If God has put up with my disaster that I call a life, and still has a heart to love me in spite of me, wouldn’t it be at least the slightest bit possible that he might knock that last verse down to help me out? “Give to the one who asks you…” is what it says. And as I mention time after time in my blog, generally to remind myself, is that if God is willing to give to me, and I am supposed to imitate God, then I would most definitely have to have a heart to give to others.

• Forgive as you want to be forgiven.


• Love as you want to be loved.


• Give as you want to be given to.

Maybe this makes sense, maybe it doesn’t. It makes sense to me. The real kicker is to accomplish these things without expecting anything in return. It’s like the stock market, you don’t know if the rewards are going to come back or not. You can put money in a broken piggy bank and later there’s not even money on the floor. The real heart is the effort. No one knows for sure if the pink pig is going to break, but someone has to invest in it, nurture it, believing in it, and if things work out, it works out. But you won’t know unless you try, as the saying goes.

Matthew 6:1-4
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

This giving is a benevolence, which is a giving to the poor and needy. It’s a different Greek word, eleēmosunē, meaning charity, pity, and mercy toward those in need. And even though it is a completely different word in Greek, it is the same in English. A part of me wants to combine the definitions in this case. It would make sense. The first says to give what is due. The second says that giving to the poor should be done in secret. It makes sense to me to put them together in saying, Give to the poor what is due them in secret. Whether it be money, material items, or food, it would be best to be done anonymously, that is if heavenly wages is the pay dirt one seeks. Johnny Out.