Base Line Righteousness

(Pro 25:21 KJV) If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:

Most people are familiar with the words of Jesus about turning the other cheek and going the extra mile.  Many might quote those phrases without knowing they came from the Bible but we are familiar with the concept.  This is a reminder that the principles Jesus set down in the Sermon on the Mount are minimums, not maximums.  They are the starting point, not the goal.  Here in the legalistic, angry God Old Testament we find the extension of the principle.  You find it in the NT also but it starts here.

Treat your enemies with love.

So?  A trap for the religious is to look for the lowest level of righteousness so that they are free to run everywhere else.  That is a recipe for hell.  God wants us sold out to righteousness.