Going the extra mile

‘Nobody goes the extra mile,’ complains my nephew’s wife, Dolores, referring, among others, to bureaucrats, domestic help and auto-rickshaw drivers. Evidently, not everyone she encounters endorses the dictum of George S Patton, who served in the United States Amy during World War II. ‘Always do more than is required of you,’ said the General. 

It is unlikely that many heeded his advice. Those who go beyond the call of duty are rare, numbering, perhaps, individuals who hope to attain success by pushing themselves to the limit. Actors, for instance, might lose or gain weight, acquire incredible skills and endure considerable discomfort, in an effort to shine on screen. ‘Film-stars have been known to go the extra mile to get into the skin of a character,’ I recently read in an article.

When it comes to exerting themselves on behalf of their fellow human beings, however, people generally stick to exactly what is expected of them, and are reluctant to expend supplementary time and energy. ‘They look as if they have been asked to part with a kidney,’ says Dolores, describing the response to her requests for additional assistance.

Two thousand years ago, faces on a hillside must have worn something close to that shocked expression, when a preacher urged a crowd of listeners to give unstintingly of themselves. Like several idioms in English, ‘go the extra mile’ has its origin in the Bible. In this case, it derives from a precept of Jesus that was extremely hard to follow.

He had in mind a law whereby, under Roman rule, a Jew could be ordered to carry the pack (heavy with military gear) of a soldier stationed in his land. The person thus compelled would have to drop whatever he was doing and trudge along with the load. The distance decreed was a mile, and we can only imagine how horrified the attentive audience would have been when Jesus declared, ‘If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.’  

Fortunately, each of us has a faithful few in our lives who, with no compulsion to do so, are willing to shoulder our baggage, emotional or otherwise, should the need arise. Let us, in turn, be ready to go the extra mile!