Matthew 5:41

The Second Mile

And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him twain. Matthew 5:41.

Rather more than five hundred years before the birth of Christ, about the time that the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, there lived in Persia a king called Cyrus. In those days there were no post-offices such as we have, and no postmen. But King Cyrus invented a means of getting his messages carried throughout the land.

On all the chief highways he established, at convenient intervals, stations with relays of horses and men. When he wished to send a letter or decree he dispatched it by courier to the first station on each of the highways. From there another courier carried it to the second station, and there a third courier was found to take it to the third station, and so on until the king's message was known throughout the land.

But sometimes these couriers required help, and they were allowed to press into their service any man, or horse, or boat, or vehicle that they came across. Nobody could refuse because they dared not disobey the commands of the king or any of his representatives, but often there must have been much grumbling about this inconvenient law.

At the time of Christ the Romans were conquerors of Palestine, and they had brought with them into Palestine this custom which they had copied from the Persians. But they had altered and extended it. When the Roman soldiers were travelling through the land they could oblige any man or beast to accompany them a certain distance to carry their baggage. Now the Jews hated this custom. They obeyed it because they were under Roman rule, but they secretly rebelled against it.

This is the custom to which Jesus refers when He talks about the second mile. He says, “If anybody presses you into their service for one mile, be ready to go two with them.” And by that He just means to tell His disciples that should always be willing to do a little more than they are asked, a little more than had to, that they are not to do any service with a bad attitude.

Now there are certain things in life that we are all driven to do things that are not pleasant to do. We have to worry away at the multiplication table, and Latin grammar, and French verbs, and dates in history. We have to get up in the morning and go to bed at night. We have to wash our hands and face and take off our muddy boots. We have to obey rules and laws at home and at school, and sometimes these rules are very annoying. The big people have to obey laws too, and some of them are not very pleasant either; but if you want to get along at all comfortably in this world you have to obey rules.

There are two ways of doing what you have to do. You may do just as little as you can, or you may do as much as you can. For instance, father asks you to weed a garden bed one afternoon and he promises you money for doing it. Well, there are two ways you can do it. Here is the first way. You pull out all the weeds and leave them lying on the path; then you come in and demand your money. That is going the first mile. But here is the second way. You pull out the weeds and clear them away. Then you think the border looks rather rough, so you find the rake and smooth it. Then you notice that some of the plants need supporting, so you get some sticks and gardener's grass and tie them up. And then you think the walk looks a bit untidy, so you rake it too. That is going the second mile. You are doing more than you are asked to do because you are interested in your work.

When you do more than you are asked, when you do things willingly and ungrudgingly, when you go out of your way to oblige somebody or be kind to somebody, then you are going the second mile. And I want to give you two reasons why we should serve in this way.

1. The first reason is because it is the happiest service.

It makes things happier for yourself. If you set about any task thinking, “What a bother this is! How soon can I get done with it, and how little can I do to get it finished?” then you certainly won't enjoy it. But if you put your heart and soul into your work and try to do it as well as you possibly can, you will get quite a lot of pleasure out of it.

And it makes things happier for other people. When some boys and girls are asked to do a thing they don't like, they pull such a long face, and they move so slowly, and they look altogether so “grudgy” and “grumpy” that the people who asked them to do the service feel as if they would rather do it themselves a thousand times over. But there are other boys and girls who, when they are asked to do a favor, look as if they liked doing it. Their feet carry them so fast that they are back in no time, and their faces shine like morning sunlight. They give you a cozy sort of feeling round your heart.

2. The other reason why we should go the second mile is that it is the best way of serving. Real service begins when we stop counting the cost. If we are always counting and calculating and measuring we shall never serve well because we shall always be trying to see just how little we can do and how much we can get in return.

Once upon a time there was a great king who wished to choose a good and wise man to rule over a distant province of his kingdom, so he sent for one of his councilors named Heth Arman. When the councilor arrived the king said, “Come with me into my gardens.” Now the king had three gardens. They were all alike in shape and size. The same flowers bloomed in all three, and in the midst of each stood a beautiful marble fountain.

When Heth Arman had seen all of them the king said to him, “Now tell me what you thought of my gardens.” “Well, your majesty,” replied the councilor, “if I may speak what is in my mind, I was disappointed with the first garden. It was not kept as a garden should be kept. The paths were trodden down, there were weeds among the sickly flowers, and the marble of the fountain was soiled and stained.”

“And what of the second garden?” asked the king. “That,” replied the councilor, “was a well-kept garden. The paths were tidy, the borders were in good order, the flowers were large and fine, and the fountain was clean and clear.”

“And the third garden?” asked the king. “Ah! your majesty,” replied Heth Arman, “words fail me to describe it. The beauty of it filled me with joy. The air was sweet with the fragrance of flowers, and the songs of the birds mingled with the music of the water as it fell sparkling into the pure marble basin. It was a perfect garden.”

“Yes,” said the king, “you have judged well, and now I will tell you why the gardens are so different. The first is kept by my slaves, who serve because they must and for fear of punishment. The second is attended to by my paid servants, who serve for hope of reward. They put into the garden only as much as they expect to take out of it. But the third garden is kept by those who love me, and they are never content with less than the best. And now,” continued the king, “I am going to send you into a far country to rule over some of my people. Serve not for fear of punishment, or for hope of reward. Love the people, and love me, and all will be well.”

Do you see the meaning of the story, boys and girls? The best service is the service of love, the service that does not count the cost. Duty carries us only to the end of the first mile, but love carries us into the second mile the mile of joy and liberty.

And it is the same with God's laws as with the laws of men. Long, long ago God saw that men must have laws to guide them and restrain them, so He gave them the Ten Commandments. And men kept them more or less badly. Then Jesus came. He did not do away with those laws of God, but He filled them with a new meaning and gave men a new reason for keeping them. And it is just like that with us. We keep God's laws more or less badly, and often they irk us until Jesus comes. And then when we let Him into our lives, He changes everything. What before seemed irksome becomes a joy. We serve because we love, and in that service is perfect freedom.