It is not fair!
“It is not fair!” is a cry usually heard from children when the outcome or circumstances do not seem favorable. As adults, that feeling still exists. However, how we communicate frustration toward unfairness becomes more refined and less confrontational as we mature. Unfair treatment always leads to conflict, regardless of age. Humans usually have a great regard for receiving justice.
“Justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today used interchangeably.” (link)
Offering justice or being fair can become complicated. It is so complex that society has created a complete career to deal with it: lawyers. We may not like them until we need them because DIY justice does not have a good historical record.
Be Fair
The Bible has many verses showing us our call to be people or justice or to be fair:
“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute,” (Psalm 82:3 ESV).
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, and please the widow’s cause,” (Isaiah 1:17 ESV).
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others,” (Luke 11:42 ESV).
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 ESV).
Human justice, or fairness, has two sides: what is given and what is received. When these two sides are in harmony, we feel peace and justice. God has called us to seek justice, which does not mean putting on a cape and becoming a superhero. But it is a call to be fair in our actions and expectations of others. What we offer to others should show justice, and what we expect from others should be fair, no more or less. Expecting more than we deserve is injustice. Making somebody feel guilty for not giving a little more violates others’ expectations of justice.
Therefore, expecting somebody to go beyond what has been contractually agreed is unfair or unjust. It is also unfair to value or compare others based on their “extra-giving” attitude and to consider the one who gives extra, better. Nobody likes the student who got a better grade just because of bringing apples to the teacher every morning.
The Christian Attitude?
At this point, somebody may think, “Wait a minute, my friend. Wasn’t Jesus the one who told us to go the extra mile? Isn’t giving more a staple of the Christian attitude? I want to be a good Christian; I must go the extra mile!”
The idea of “going the extra mile” as a Christian attitude is entirely understandable. Most religious articles and sermons about Jesus and the “extra mile” conclude by supporting the concept that Christians should give more in everything they do.
Maybe not the best way to make this point, but Googling “Should Christians go the extra mile?” will return many articles focusing on this expected Christian characteristic. When researching for this article, I asked Google the above question, and at the top of the page, Google’s Gemini AI included what it understood from processing multiple articles:
“Yes, the Bible encourages Christians to ‘go the extra mile,’ meaning to go beyond what is expected or required, demonstrating generosity and a willingness to serve others, as seen in Matthew 5:41.” (Gemini AI)
Sorry, Gemini AI, but you are wrong!
The old ways
The story of the “extra mile” is found in Matthew 5. The Sermon on the Mount chapter, in which Jesus talks about the famous Beatitudes, also contains many of Jesus’ teachings about our Christian character. The “extra mile” teachings are found in verses 38 to 42.
In verse 38, Jesus starts with: “You have heard that it was said.” A way to say, “You already know this”. Then, He reminded the audience of God’s instructions to the Israelites about applying justice. It was a system based on fair payback: “An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth.” (NIrV) These justice rules are found in the Old Testament:
“But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” Exodus 21:23-25 (NIV)
“Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Deuteronomy 19:21 (NIV)
These laws were used to apply justice in Israel. Commanded by God. And everyone listening to Jesus indeed related to these.
Occupied by the Romans, Israel experienced encounters with abuse and humiliation daily. The lack of justice was a constant burden on their hearts. And they knew that if they searched for an “eye for eye” justice, they would lose their lives. Because of this condition, they were waiting for a messiah who would give them the power to fight for justice.
While listening to Jesus reminding them about the “payback laws,” the kind of justice they could not apply under occupation may have given them hope that this messiah would finally make things right.
The evil context
Right after the reminder in verse 38, Jesus introduces the framework for his new social approach. In verse 39, He says: “Do not fight against an evil person.” (NIrV) In other words, Jesus told the people, “Everything I will say to you from now on applies when dealing with an evil person.” And this creates the context for the “extra mile.”
Then Jesus lists three critical areas when facing an evil person.
- Physical: “Suppose someone slaps you on your right cheek. Turn your other cheek to them also.” (v39 NIrV)
- Property: “Suppose someone takes you to court to get your shirt. Let them have your coat also.” (v40 NIrV)
- Time and Effort: “Suppose someone forces you to go one mile. Go two miles with them.” (v41 NIrV)
Jesus does not tell the people how to fight oppression but how to behave under it. If you forgot, the instructions apply if the evil person asks for it.
Matthew 5:41 is the verse at the center of the popular teaching of the Christian virtue of going the extra mile. First, this verse explains why the person is already walking the first mile: “Suppose someone forces you” (NIrV). The first mile does not happen because of a pleasant request or an agreed contract. No! This “first mile” is by force. And who is forcing it? The evil person from verse 39. Then Jesus says, “Go two miles with them”. (NIrV) Why should we comply with that injustice? Again, verse 39, “Do not fight against an evil person.” (NIrV)
Jesus’ teaching is not a call to be a pushover. But to recognize evil people and comply gracefully and humbly when faced with no other escape but submission. His call is to do more than expected under these evil circumstances. Jesus’s teaching is an extension of what is found in the Old Testament:
“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:21,22 NIV)
Perhaps Israel had forgotten these proverbs, considering their Roman occupation and their desire for an “eye for an eye” justice. Jesus extended this teaching in a context that may have been difficult to accept.
The extra mile “virtue”?
How was Jesus’ teaching on dealing with evil people transformed into a “virtue” to be applied to everything we do? Could it be that providing the extra mile has become an instrument of virtual signaling? Or a penitence toward our salvation? And how does this “virtue” become an expectation when interacting with somebody else?
We have the call to be people of justice. To provide or expect what has been agreed or what is fair. Being faithful to contractual agreements and never lean to the right or the left. Faithfulness is a Christian virtue we find as part of the fruits of the Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22,23 NIV)
Walking the extra mile is not part of it. Walking the extra mile is the Christian reaction when dealing with evil people, which is connected to the virtues of peace, gentleness, and self-control.
“Extra mile” or generosity?
The “extra mile” coexists with the “evil person.” It is a duality that can’t be altered. If the feeling of going the “extra mile” exists, an evil force must be present creating it. That force could be a Christian cultural expectation of giving extra because everybody does it, making it a peer pressure situation.
Unorganized or poorly managed environments often become the “evil people” who force others to go the extra mile to keep things running because that is expected, not to want to be seen as less supportive, or fear losing their jobs. Conditions like this become even more unfair when the reward for the extra miles becomes a “God will bless you” because “you are helping with the mission.” Jesus’s teaching about going the extra mile is on the spot for this unfortunate situation.
We are not called to traffic with God’s blessings but to act with justice so people don’t need to walk the extra mile. Employee evaluation should not include the “walks the extra mile” item as a “virtue,” but if existing, it should be a call to analyze work expectations toward justice.
However, in a friendly work environment, an employee will offer more. But not because it is going the “extra mile.” It happens because of generosity and gratitude toward fair treatment. And this is the environment we are called to create around us.
Be fair in all your actions and transactions, be generous, and if you encounter evil people and you can’t escape, yes, walk the extra mile.
Copyright: Italo Osorio 2025
Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash
