Matthew 5:41
If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.
[aside: This scripture amuses me. I feel sorry for any Roman Soldier that happened to choose an evangelical Christian to carry his stuff… and then found he had him for two miles. š ]
This saying needs converting from Imperial – there are no longer Roman soldiers around forcing people to carry their equipment a mile – instead we have bureaucrats forcing compliance work on to everyone.
But what is the conversion factor fromĀ Roman Imperial to Modern Bureaucracy ? It seems like seventy times seven. I’m doing what feels like 490km of tax compliance work. How do I “go the extra mile” in this situation and if I manage it then won’t that just mean that all I’ve done is 980km? What good is there in that?
What was Jesus thinking?!
When you view it as something you choose to do, you take your power back and disempower the would-be oppressor. If the gangster takes you as his whore, does this mean you choose to be his lover instead?