Aren’t you thankful for the people in your life that bring you love, joy, and peace? We all need relationships with others that help progress us towards a more godly way of life. It’s a blessing to have people that encourage and motivate us to be better than ourselves. As much as we appreciate these relationships, we realize that not everyone we know and encounter will bring us such tranquility. We have to deal with confrontation with other people all the time. That’s life, and we don’t have a choice because we cannot control other people. However, we can control how we respond to confrontation.
I respect the idea that when we are being physically attacked, we should be able to defend ourselves and neutralize the threat. However, I cannot harmoniously see a time when a Christian should physically attack another person because of something said or an attitude portrayed.
Jesus says that His disciples are to consciously choose to behave differently from how the world decides to act. If we are to be in the Kingdom of heaven, then we will have to choose a different kind of response to insults, bad jokes, vulgarity, and mocking.
Jesus provides three choice ways to respond to insults from enemies in Luke 6:26-29:
First, Jesus says, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” In this verse, the word “love” is “agape” love; it is sacrificial love. What Jesus is asking us to do is to sacrifice our own pride and give up ourselves to do good to people who insult us. While we might want to injure them back by slapping them, the Christian is to do good. The Christian is to deescalate the situation by subtracting injury from the insult.
Second, Jesus says, “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” The word “bless” means to “speak well” or “praise.” What Jesus is asking us to do is to take the moment at hand and complement the person who is cursing at us. Jesus takes it a step further and commands us to pray for those who mistreat us.” Bring their name before the Heavenly Father and ask Him to take care of the situation and the person. While we might want to injure them back by cursing them, the Christian is to pray for them instead. The Christian is to deescalate the situation by subtracting injury from the insult.
Third, Jesus says, “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.” The word “offer” means to “furnish” or “present.” To slap someone in Jewish culture was to disrespect that person. It was not about physical harm but more about the person’s psychological harm. It might be comparable to spitting in someone’s face in our culture. What Jesus is asking us to do is take the disrespect and bare it but then turn and offer the other cheek for more disrespect. While we might want to injure them by being disrespectful to them in return, the Christian is to see if our enemy needs something and then provide it. The Christian is to deescalate the situation by subtracting injury from the insult.
These are challenging thoughts from the wise words of Jesus. It challenges us because it is not the typical response we see in the world today. We see quite the opposite. We see insults, slaps, and cursing. But the Christian is to be different. The Christian should be subtracting injury from insult.
Let’s pray:
Father in heaven,
Please give us the strength to love people that don’t love us. Give us strength to complement those that curse us. Give us the power to turn the other cheek and bare the disrespect. Give us the courage to not lose heart and keep a clear head when we face confrontations. Give us a spirit of generosity so that our enemies will find You and become our brothers and sisters. Use our influence to win souls. In the name of Jesus, AMEN!
I love you,
Alex