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A lot of what the Bible says is practical, and today’s musing is no exception. It’s always best to take care of situations when they are little, because the longer you wait the more it grows. What started out as something that could have been handled can easily mutate into something that you’ll never get back again.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
It has been said that this directly related to what was going on in Roman society. If someone had a problem with you, they could take you to the judge. But if you could make amends with them—in essence, make a plea with them—then you could spare yourself judgment. Judges were notoriously corrupt, so it was in your best interest to reconcile quickly.
What does this mean for the Christian today? It means that we should not be so proud that we are not the first to go when there is trouble or an offense. It means that we should consider ourselves humble, and not be worried so much about what happens to us as to what happens to our testimony.
Christ upped the ante when He told his listeners this, because they were used to wanting justice and not used to trying to settle, and Christ said it was better to settle and to spare yourself the public trial and jail than it was to try to maintain pride.
How about you? What do you do in your daily life to try to “maintain face” and to make someone call you out publicly about something? Are you humble, or so proud that you have to be proven wrong?
