Several years ago, I worked in a dual position as executive assistant to a director and as an editor of a state news-letter. Although my education and (often) 60-hour work weeks were appreciated, my salary was lower than the salaries of men who worked in positions several levels below mine. When I asked for a raise, my boss told me that I'd been foolish to take this job at such low pay, but since I had, that was my problem. Several of the men who made two or three times my salary, with far fewer credentials, felt this was very humorous.
As I was preparing to quit in a rage and go to war with the males of our species, something deep within me began calming me down. I started to think about this more from the perspective Jesus taught. In the midst of the outrage and injustices encountered by the Jews under Roman rule, he said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."Matt. 5:44, 45.
So, was Jesus crazy to say that? No, he was spiritually-minded. He was teaching us to turn away from a material view of life—where God seems to be left out of His own creation—toward life in the kingdom of God. In this entirely spiritual kingdom, God is still very much with us, and very much in control.
