I can understand why some people turned away from following Jesus, even though they were frequently in his company and witnessed or even experienced his miracles.
Some of the things he said simply did not make sense; for example, a man hits you on one side of your face, turn and offer the other side too. Huh? Sounds ridiculous. But many of us have unconsiously practised this principle in our childhood days. Take, for instance, you and your siblings or friends had been given a treat to share among yourselves. After you had been given the smallest share someone from the group decided to pinch some of yours. Of course you were hurt. You immediately lost the taste for whatever it was and said, "Here, take all. I don't want it!" And, surprise, surprise, instead of refusing it, the greedy person gladly grabbed the rest.
I was discussing the topic of ingratitude with a dear friend of mine. He said that he would help people who were constantly ungrateful no matter how many times he helped them, but he would not go out of his way to help. When you listened to the kinds of examples that helped to shape his reasoning it is easy to agree with him. But if you are alert to the teaching of the Christian Spirit Guide, the Holy Spirit, you would remember Jesus' instruction to go the extra mile.
Jesus compares a person who hears his sayings and does them to a wise man who builds on a rock (solid foundation), while one who hears and does not follow them to a foolish man who builds on sand (loose and unstable footing). The test comes when the storms batter the structure. Matthew 7:24-27.
I gave the matter a lot of thought. I have seen ingratitude in its extreme. And humanly speaking it seems like the better option to refuse these persons when they show up with their troubles and petitions, as they inevitably will. But I have examined the wisdom of Jesus and in an "aha!" moment I realized why he gave these instructions in Matthew 5: 38-39.
Some people are naturally ungrateful. That's how they were raised. It's a family trait. But there are others who take ingratitude to an extreme level because they want to take advantage of a person's Christianity and laugh about it.
Verses 45-48 are the keys to the wisdom of the matter (Matthew 5:45-48)--children like their father. The Heavenly Father is gracious even when we don't deserve it. Even when we take him for granted he bestows on us his mercies. He not only gave us forgiveness of our sins, but he went the extra mile of providing healing for our sicknesses, emotions, guilt and oppression. He could have simply provided forgiveness only in Christ's sacrifice but he went the extra mile, throwing in healing, otherwise we could have been walking around like itchy street dogs, forgiven of our sins but weighed down by the consequences of those sins.
So although it is difficult, and makes you look like a moron, ask the Holy Spirit to help you (which, by the way, is an extra benefit of Christ's sacrifice) to extend grace to the person who doesn't deserve it. That way, you will be like your Father, who is in heaven. Luke 6: 27-31.
