What Does It Mean to Turn the Other Cheek?

Any act of vengeance is evil, regardless of the justifications used for seeking it. If you suffered wounds from another person’s aggression or betrayal, it might be impossible to agree that seeking revenge is evil. The biblical admonition to "turn the other cheek" is in opposition to retaliation.

Turning the other cheek is an unnatural response. The natural reaction is to defend oneself or strike back. In truth, we would like to inflict more pain than was received, and it’s at this juncture where evil makes its appearance. When revenge becomes an all-consuming drive, nothing else matters.

What did Jesus mean in Matthew 5:39 when he taught that if someone hurts you or sins against you, try first to understand the situation? What motivated this person’s anger? Did you by your own actions or attitude invite this criticism? Turning the other cheek includes responding with kindness and mercy and forgiveness as God has forgiven you. 

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Let there be no more bitter resentment or anger, no more shouting or slander, and let there be no bad feeling of any kind among you. Be kind to each other, be compassionate. Be as ready to forgive others as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.

~Ephesians 4:31-32 Phillips – The New Testament in Modern English 

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Looking Back, Moving Forward - Part 1

You’re aware of how some memories persevere for a lifetime while others fade into obscurity. A few rare memories are like sweet cream dessert, but others can be so awful we do our best to avoid them. Most of our memories include a combination of happy and sad experiences, sparking our emotions that span a range from joyful to disturbing.

When children are severely criticized and rejected, they may develop survival skills to help them reach their highest potential and yet continue to feel an emptiness that success is incapable of filling. Being disfavored leaves a child or an adult feeling impoverished, like the black sheep of the family. Yet it's possible to replace this perspective with God’s perspective.

No one makes it through life with only positive memories, but God will heal wounds we’ve acquired at every stage of life. Pain created by memories shrink as you permit God to do his work of cleansing and forgiving. You are favored by God, so deposit this reality into your memory bank. 

Redeeming Bad Choices - Part 2

The older brother in Jesus' story of the prodigal son could not accept his father's determination to integrate his wayward brother back into the family. This unglued his equilibrium to the degree that frustration, anger, and disbelief replaced the tranquility he knew when his brother was out of the picture.

The older brother had trouble accepting that his younger brother had a different personality and needed to live on the edge of discovery. Their father supported  the fact that his sons were different - one adventurous and immature, the other choosing to stay close to home and run the family business. Children need parents who respect differences and encourage them to pursue ambitions equivalent to their skills.

God's grace and mercy allow for mistakes and failure, as seen in both the younger and older sons. Unforgiven anger and unforgivable failure in ourselves or in others is the pathway to heartache and hardship. God requires that we forgive others, as he has forgiven us. This is clearly the pathway to inner peace. 

Choosing Compassion and Forgiveness - Part 3

There have always been tragic situations that God's people have to endure, while perpetrators of hurtful acts appear to escape suffering. Are laws that give criminals rights and protection, but often ignore the rights of victims, unjust? Are we too lenient on those who hurl rebellion and pride in the face of society?

The older brother saw his father coddle his younger sibling, who was irresponsible, lazy, and disloyal. The older brother's attitude concerning his younger brother was to send this slacker on down the road. Let him suffer for the pain he brought on the family. He could not bring himself to forgive either his brother or father.

We, like the older brother, have choices concerning how we behave. Anger and resentment destroy our inner peace and separate us from fellowship with God and others. Proverbs 12:15 issues a warning. "The ways of a fool seem right to him, but a wise man listens to advice." God never fails to show us the way to forgiveness and righteousness.