But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matt 5:39 (KJV)
I had to use the King James Version here cos I just love the word “smite”. I don't mean I'm into smiting people, I just think the word is really cool to say and hear!
Smite.
OK, enough fun and time for some seriousness!
When someone punches you, abuses you, or mistreats you in any way I don’t think Jesus is indicating here that we must roll over and take another beating.
Not at all.
If that were the case then He would’ve said to the High Priest’s servant whose ear Peter cut off, “Hey mate, just hold up for a moment and allow Peter to cut off your other one!”
(You can tell I’m in a fun mood today, can’t you?)
In fact, what I think Jesus was really digging into is the trait of forgiveness.
What? Are you serious? How can forgiveness be given by turning the other cheek?
It’s not really an actual turning of the cheek, but more like an internal attitude of turning the other cheek.
Whenever Jesus looked at anyone, He saw straight into their eternal value. He saw someone worth dying for, regardless of their actions or past. He saw them for how they were affected and infected by the insidious and blackening nature of sin and how His death and resurrection would not only repair, but eradicate any trace of that… for eternity!
Now when someone cuts in the line in front of you, or lies about you or publicly discredits you, look first to their eternal value. The price Jesus paid for them.
Don’t first ask yourself, “How can I vindicate this wrong done to me?” Any retaliation de-values that person, which is actually what they are trying to do to you. But your value is already set. And so is theirs.
And it’s the highest price ever paid.
You don’t have to fight against that form of depreciation. But instead just turn the other cheek.
You have to protect yourself. YES! But you don’t have to defend your eternal value (Jesus has already done that). That’s what sin-nature always gets humanity to do to one another. It tries to prove that we are worth less than what Christ has paid.
Turning the other cheek is refusing to buy into and believe that lie.
[vcex_image_grid columns=”3″ pagination=”false” thumbnail_link=”custom_link” link_title_tag=”true” custom_links_target=”_blank” overlay_style=”title-category-visible” columns_gap=”5″ img_hover_style=”fade-out” image_ids=”20934,20935,20937″ custom_links=”https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1239768002?pt=118656308&ct=blog%20footer&mt=8,https://www.pktfuel.com/dailyemail,https://www.pktfuel.com/support” img_height=”350″]