How well do YOU do on the second mile???

Good day, party people, good day!  Yes, it's Thursday and I'm a day late.  But the way my week has been set up...  

I hope that everyone is having a WONDERFUL week!  The weather has cooled a little in Chicago, so we're out of the 90s and into the 80s (my kind of weather), so less swelter and more sultry.  The sun is shining this morning and it's just gorgeous out!  Don't believe me? See for yourself:

Told ya!!!

Anyway, onto today's post.  This past Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a different church in honor of the Pastoral Anniversary celebration for one of Urban Dude's fraternity brothers, Rev. Derrick Garth.  His church is Greater Mt. Pleasant M.B. Church in Chicago, and he and his lovely wife, LaTrina, have been serving there for 4 years. Congratulations again to the Garths on this accomplishment!  A few of the fraternity brothers and their other halves attended, and it was great to see the show of support for Rev. Garth as he is a faithful supporter of their chapter.  Here is the group photo we took after the service (aren't we cute???):

The guest speaker for the morning service was Dr. Robert Cain (didn't catch the name of his church), but he is part of the Black Greek community also (Indy love!) and he gave a wonderful tribute to Rev. & Mrs. Garth, as well as delivered a very life applicable message (see, we Black Greeks do stick together and support one another regularly!).  It was his message, "The Second Mile" that inspired this post.  (For those that are interested, he used Matthew 5:41 to illustrate his point).  This is the second time in two weeks that a minister's message has inspired my post, go figure...

The gist of his message was this:  the scripture suggests that Christians should have a different response to adversity and injustice and that it is more important to give justice and mercy than to demand it.  Kind of reminiscent of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., right?  (Dr. King was also a fraternity man, I'm just saying...)

He went on to say that the second mile goes above the call of duty and gave these 4 characteristics of it:

1) it doesn't wait to see what others do but acts because there is a need;

2) it is voluntary- the actor does the extra freely;

3) it is visible action; and 

4) it's a victorious mile because you are walking in Christ's footsteps.

Dr. Cain said it best, the first mile is easy, but it's the second mile that tests you.  It's easy to love someone when they are loving you.  It's easy to be nice to someone when they are being nice to you.  But what about when they aren't???

Mind you, this message isn't just just for Believers or applicable to the Church.  It is a principle that can guide everyone as we go about our daily lives.  Don't believe me?  Here are some examples as I see it:

1)  On your job when a co-worker takes full credit for a project that you worked on together and in fact, you did the majority of the work.  Now, you could blow a gasket and make a scene or you could just let it go, trusting that eventually the truth will come out (now I'm not saying to keep helping the co-worker either...), just keep your cool - Second Mile Behavior

2) When your needy family member who always wants to borrow money or stay with you and never pays it back calls you to ask for more money.  Again.  Now, you can go off on them about how they didn't pay you back the last time or you can just help them (or not, as the case may be) but without blowing your fuse... Second Mile Behavior

3)   When your partner, significant other or spouse hurts your feelings and yells at you and you want to let him/her have it... instead, you cook dinner or sit next to them on the couch while they're watching television (or whatever it is that you normally do, you get the point) - Second Mile Behavior

4) When someone tells a lie on you that makes others question your integrity and your "first impulse is to run up on them, pull a Rambo, whip out the jammy and flat blast ['em], but instead, [you] chill" ... (old 80's song reference, did you catch it? - I see you Oran "Juice" Jones, I see you!!!) - Second Mile Behavior

As you can see, the message really stuck with me and made me think about how I do on my "second mile."  Believe it or not, ALL of these things have happened to me, sometimes more than once, and more than a few at one time!  And I thought at the time that I was going to literally explode or implode from keeping it in check, but, I didn't.  I'm not saying that it didn't bother me, or didn't hurt, or didn't annoy me, because believe you me, I was all of those things!  I'm also not saying that I get it right all of the time, more times than I care to admit to, I actually don't make it to the second mile (because sometimes you have to let folks HAVE IT!), but I am working on it.  And as I'm not known for my silence, it is definitely a journey.  What do I always say?  I am a Work in Progress...

If you saw the movie Selma earlier this year (if you didn't, you should, and here's more info about it here and here), directed by Black Greek sorority member, Ava DuVernay (we're just EVERYWHERE), it provides a glowing example of "second milers" in Dr. King and his supporters.  And we know from history that they were indeed victorious at the end of the second mile in Selma.  

So what am I saying- be a pushover?  Nope.  Not at all.  However, what I am saying is that in some circumstances it's better in the long run to use a tame word and a tempered sword in the face of adversity and injustice.

So I'll leave you with the question I started with - how well do YOU do on the second mile???? Holla @ Darvi and let me know.  Be Blessed!