Resistance is Futile

I am continuing with my series based on the book, Discover the Power Within You, by Unity minister, Eric Butterworth, and the lesson this week is “Resistance is Futile.” Mr. Butterworth asserts that in Matthew 5:29-49, a segment of what is widely known as “The Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus was instructing his listeners in “The Law of Nonresistance,” and that practicing nonresistance helps us to not only discover, but also to release the “Power Within.”

Mr. Butterworth posits that often the things and people we resist have the potential to be catalysts for our greatest accomplishments, and that when we push against them or run away from them, we can miss an opportunity for spiritual growth and personal discovery. He suggests that resistance is futile: It cannot produce any desired result. He proposes that rather than fighting against or running from, that we accept “what is” and do our best to allow that which we are resisting to help us “discover the power within.” He cites Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 5:29-32 as evidence.

Further, Mr. Butterworth proclaims that the passage from Matthew 5: 38-42, quoted below, is in his words, “one of the most profound messages of the entire Bible. It sets forth with unmistakable clarity the law of nonresistance.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

The traditional interpretation of this passage, usually literal, suggests that we are to ignore those who would do us harm, not fight against those who would take from us, and give to anyone who asks. While many others were calling for violent reaction, in his efforts to promote social change in the civil rights movement, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used this Scripture to validate his commitment to nonviolence and nonresistance in response to frequent and often vehement attacks against African Americans. Dr. King was a friend and student of Mahatmas Gandhi who also employed these practices in his efforts for equality in India. Their commitment to these practices is honored annually with The Gandhi King Season for Nonviolence (SNV), a campaign sponsored by the Association for Global New Thought (agnt.org). SNV, now in its 18^th year, begins on January 30 and ends on April 4, marking the dates of the assassinations of Gandhi and King. The purpose of the campaign is to focus attention, through education and media, on the philosophy of attaining peace through nonviolent action as demonstrated by legendary leaders Gandhi and King.  Other leaders living by this example would also include Cesar E. Chavez, President Nelson Mandela, as well as living legends such as His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, to name a few.

While in complete support of loving responsive action, Mr. Butterworth gives less consideration to action and instead approaches the teaching from a metaphysical perspective. He stresses that this Scripture, as well as all of Jesus’ teachings, were more about consciousness than action. Contemplate that important concept and then consider that Mr. Butterworth says Jesus was teaching us to be aware of our state of consciousness in response to the actions of others, and to do our best to turn from our conditioned human response, often emotions based in fear which stimulate resistance, and to respond, instead, from our spiritual nature. In effect, he is saying that our conditioned human response can often create resistance to the flow of God, or the Life Principle, through us. When we are consciously aware of that, we can choose to release the resistance and become the conduits for God that we are intended to be. Again, to do otherwise will never deliver the outcome we desire, thus resistance is futile.

It is comparable to electrical resistance. “The electrical resistance of an electrical conductor is the opposition to the passage of an electric current through that conductor. The inverse quantity is electrical conductance, the ease with which an electric current passes” (Wikipedia.org).  Similarly, we are here to be the conductors of the “Power Within Us” that is God. When we are in resistance, due to resentment, fear, anger, or any similar reactive emotion, we are not allowing the free flow of that Power. The more open we are, the greater our capacity to be the conductors and release that Power.

I invite you to join us at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday as we explore further the concept of nonresistance and how its practice can assist us as we discover and release the Power within us. Remember, resistance is futile.