39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on
the right cheek, turn to him the other also
Matthew 5:39 (NIV)
I think what inspired today's verse was the new Harry Potter movie. Whenever Malfoy does somethign to Harry, Harry always gets him back, and around the cycle goes. In the sixth movie, Harry spies on Malfoy. Then Malfoy bloodies Harry's nose. Then Harry uses the spell Sectum Sepra to hurt Malfoy.
Today's lesson is part of the Beatitudes, also known as the Sermon on the Mount. It's easy to say, "Turn the other cheek", but as soon as we start thinking about it we think, "I can't do that." So I started thinking, is it really that literal?
Harry Potter reminded me of a term I heard, called social bullying. Social bullying is beating people up emotionally. It's a lot more common these days than physical bullying. So if we turn the other cheek in a verbal engagement, what does it look like? Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It's a useful comeback in elementary school, but as we get older it seems to lose it's power.
Verbal abuse hurts, and it stays with us. What does turning the other cheek have to do with this? Jesus goes on in the following verses to tell us to go beyond, and to offer them more than they're asking for. I don't think he means that if someone makes fun of us we should tell them our deepest, darkest secrets so they can hurt us more. But he is telling us to not retaliate. He asks us to be the better person by not fighting back? To be kind to people who are mean to us.
Does this mean we don't have a right to be hurt and angry? That we should just be able to let it all wash away? I don't think so. We shouldn't keep things bottled up inside. Jesus is always willing to listen. We should also talk them out - preferably with the people who hurt us. If we can't so that, we can confide in someone we can trust.
If you think about it, talking about things like this allows us to get them off our chest. It keeps our feelings from being bottled up, and it keeps us from exploding when the next person comes along and hurts our feelings. So turning the other cheek means a lot more than just dealing in the moment. It has to do with how we deal afterwards - and how we prepare for the next time.
If you would like to read more on this subject, I found a three-part article on turning the other cheek when we are "emotionally slapped". It's a pretty short read, and I strongly encourage girls in particular to read it. You can find it here: http://www.gospel.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/14/turning-the-other-cheek-when-youve-been-emotionally-slapped/
http://kairosverse.blogspot.com
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