Article February 1, 1988 Issue

On agreeing "with thine adversary"

How can one agree with an adversary? Jury duty and the deeper sense of "adversary" combine to shed light on Christ Jesus' admonition.

Ruth L. Daigle

Have you ever been called to serve on a jury? In many countries this is a civic duty, and it is often a very informative experience.

A student of Christian Science had such an experience once when he was called to jury duty in a civil court case. While being instructed by the attorneys involved, however, the jurors were abruptly notified that they were all dismissed! The case had been settled out of court, they were told, and they could all go home. The student learned later that quite often when the litigants in a civil case get to court, they realize they may all fare better by coming to some agreement between themselves rather than submitting to what may turn out to be a long and costly court battle.

This made me think of something Christ Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison."^{Matt. 5:25.}

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