Removing the Buttons Part Five - Responding like Jesus
I've never been in a fist fight.
If you know me well, that's probably not a surprise. I can honestly say I couldn't hit a person. But I'm not saying I never thought anyone would punch me. That's a totally different story. So in middle and high school I sometimes found myself contemplating what I would do if someone punched me. Luckily I never got punched so I never found out. But I wondered if I'd hit back, if I'd run away, or just stand there and cry. (Honestly, probably the last!)
For those of you wondering the same thing, the Sermon on the Mount addresses this very topic. And you may not like what it says:
"You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don't resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also....And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two," (Matthew 5:38-39 and 41, HCSB).
That "eye for an eye" saying actually came from God's command in Exodus (21:24), describing how a man, fighting another man, who accidentally hits a pregnant woman is supposed to be handled: the damage done to either the mother or the baby is the same punishment given to the assaulting man. (Yes, God was that specific!) Though many parts of the world considered women and unborn babies to simply be possessions, God didn't. He commanded men to make sure they treated women and children with respect.
So evidently, that saying, eye for an eye, caught on. And it became the standard for how you were allowed to retaliate for any injustice done to you. Someone steals your donkey? You steal theirs. Someone tramples your corn? Go stomp theirs down.
And that's pretty much how our world operates today, if we're honest. If someone does something to you, do it back to them. That's how everybody else does it. That's your right.
Everybody else.
Hmmmmm....but we're salt and light. We're different. We're weird.
So Jesus says we don't act like them, specifically, we don't retaliate. Someone backs into your car? You don't run into theirs. A girl starts spreading rumors about you? Your mouth stays closed.
In the face of evil you show love. When you are dealt meanness, you show kindness. (Real kindness...not the kindness that acts kind but really screams when she leaves.)
But that seems ridiculous, right? Why in the world should we ever let someone push us over? If you can stop the face-slapper, shouldn't you? What's wrong with standing up for yourself?
Nothing. If you're normal :)
But we're weird. And we follow Jesus:
"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly," (1 Peter 2:23, NIV).
If anyone had the right to retaliate, it was Christ. He had done nothing wrong. And they arrested Him, gave Him an unfair trial, beat Him, ridiculed Him, and killed Him.
If anyone had the power to retaliate, it was Christ. As He was being arrested, Peter yanked out his sword and started swinging. Jesus told him to put it back, saying, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53, NIV). (Just so you know, a Roman legion had 6000 soldiers in it. I can just picture 72,000 angels ready to fight for their LORD, had God the Father given the word. But He didn't.)
So if Christ didn't fight back, neither should we.
Now this passage needs a word of explanation: we're not talking about taking abuse. We're not talking about allowing someone to hurt us over and over. (In those cases, you get help immediately.) We're just talking about someone being a jerk. The slap in the face is the insulting, hurt-my-pride-more-than-my-face kind of action.
We love the slapper by not responding. By rising above. By choosing to keep walking, keep going, head held high, without letting our anger take over.
We act like Jesus.
It's funny to think that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount took place years before His death. And I'm sure at the time some of the people who heard His words said, "Can you believe this guy? Who would ever turn the other cheek?"
And then He did it.
Can you?
Don't miss another post! Subscribe with your email address at the top right.
Or feel free to email me at myleslienotebook@gmail.com
If you know me well, that's probably not a surprise. I can honestly say I couldn't hit a person. But I'm not saying I never thought anyone would punch me. That's a totally different story. So in middle and high school I sometimes found myself contemplating what I would do if someone punched me. Luckily I never got punched so I never found out. But I wondered if I'd hit back, if I'd run away, or just stand there and cry. (Honestly, probably the last!)
For those of you wondering the same thing, the Sermon on the Mount addresses this very topic. And you may not like what it says:
"You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don't resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also....And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two," (Matthew 5:38-39 and 41, HCSB).
That "eye for an eye" saying actually came from God's command in Exodus (21:24), describing how a man, fighting another man, who accidentally hits a pregnant woman is supposed to be handled: the damage done to either the mother or the baby is the same punishment given to the assaulting man. (Yes, God was that specific!) Though many parts of the world considered women and unborn babies to simply be possessions, God didn't. He commanded men to make sure they treated women and children with respect.
So evidently, that saying, eye for an eye, caught on. And it became the standard for how you were allowed to retaliate for any injustice done to you. Someone steals your donkey? You steal theirs. Someone tramples your corn? Go stomp theirs down.
And that's pretty much how our world operates today, if we're honest. If someone does something to you, do it back to them. That's how everybody else does it. That's your right.
Everybody else.
Hmmmmm....but we're salt and light. We're different. We're weird.
So Jesus says we don't act like them, specifically, we don't retaliate. Someone backs into your car? You don't run into theirs. A girl starts spreading rumors about you? Your mouth stays closed.
In the face of evil you show love. When you are dealt meanness, you show kindness. (Real kindness...not the kindness that acts kind but really screams when she leaves.)
But that seems ridiculous, right? Why in the world should we ever let someone push us over? If you can stop the face-slapper, shouldn't you? What's wrong with standing up for yourself?
Nothing. If you're normal :)
But we're weird. And we follow Jesus:
"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly," (1 Peter 2:23, NIV).
If anyone had the right to retaliate, it was Christ. He had done nothing wrong. And they arrested Him, gave Him an unfair trial, beat Him, ridiculed Him, and killed Him.
If anyone had the power to retaliate, it was Christ. As He was being arrested, Peter yanked out his sword and started swinging. Jesus told him to put it back, saying, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53, NIV). (Just so you know, a Roman legion had 6000 soldiers in it. I can just picture 72,000 angels ready to fight for their LORD, had God the Father given the word. But He didn't.)
So if Christ didn't fight back, neither should we.
Now this passage needs a word of explanation: we're not talking about taking abuse. We're not talking about allowing someone to hurt us over and over. (In those cases, you get help immediately.) We're just talking about someone being a jerk. The slap in the face is the insulting, hurt-my-pride-more-than-my-face kind of action.
We love the slapper by not responding. By rising above. By choosing to keep walking, keep going, head held high, without letting our anger take over.
We act like Jesus.
It's funny to think that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount took place years before His death. And I'm sure at the time some of the people who heard His words said, "Can you believe this guy? Who would ever turn the other cheek?"
And then He did it.
Can you?
Don't miss another post! Subscribe with your email address at the top right.
Or feel free to email me at myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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