Where an eye for an eye get you

Samson said, "It was tit for tat. I only did to them what they did to me." In other words, an eye for an eye.

What they did to him: His wife learned the secret to his riddle and told it to his "friends," who won the bet. She betrayed Samson's trust and they benefited.

What he did to them: Samson killed 30 innocent strangers to repay the debt.

What they did to him: His father-in-law gave Samson's wife to his best man and then tried to give Samson his younger daughter.

What he did to them: "Samson then went out and caught three hundred jackals. He lashed the jackals' tails together in pairs and tied a torch between each pair of tails. He then set fire to the torches and let them loose in the Philistine fields of ripe grain. Everything burned, both stacked and standing grain, vineyards and olive orchards—everything."

What they did to him: "The Philistines went up and burned both Samson's wife and her father to death."

What he did to them: "Samson tore into them, ripping them limb from limb—a huge slaughter."

What they did to him: 300 men from Judah came and tied him up. The captured him in order to make him pay.

What he did to them: The Spirit of God came on him with great power and he killed all of them.

What they did to him: After the failed attempt to capture him while he was with a prostitute, they bribed Delilah, "Seduce him. Discover what's behind his great strength and how we can tie him up and humble him. Each man's company will give you a hundred shekels of silver." Some time later, Delilah delivered: "The Philistines grabbed him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza. They shackled him in irons and put him to the work of grinding in the prison."

What he did to them: While he was entertaining people at a party, "Samson cried out to God, 'Oh, please, give strength yet once more. With one avenging blow let me be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes!' Then Samson reached out to the two central pillars that held up the building and pushed against them, one with his right arm, the other with his left. Saying, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' Samson pushed hard with all his might. The building crashed on the tyrants and all the people in it. He killed more people in his death than he had killed in his life."

And they all lived happily ever after.

If Samson was really interested in an eye for an eye, he would have been limited in retribution to only what was taken from him. This would never have escalated to this level. 3,000 people died with him, because he lost a bet after being tricked by his wife.

Jesus asks us to not even take an eye for an eye, but instead to turn the other cheek. That's what he did, taking on the cross for our salvation.

An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

I'm not sure if we can hear this section of the Sermon on the Mount enough, "Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."