Turning the Other Cheek - New Evangelizers

But I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To anyone who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek as well; to anyone who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. -Luke 6:27-29

Where I grew up, it was generally accepted behavior to turn the other cheek when wronged. No, we weren’t altar boys or young saints-in-waiting. We were kids from the wrong side of the tracks, kids with boulder-sized chips carried on our shoulders from being treated as a second class of citizen. When we turned the other cheek, we usually had a fist flying right behind it.

As an adult, I’m trying to be a better Christian. Honestly (No laughing out there). But one of the things I still struggle with is turning the other cheek when wronged. I want to extract revenge; I want to retaliate. And I want to do this right away. Justice served swiftly and righteously. Maybe a little too Old Testament?

Turn the other cheek. Forgive and forget. I must get better at this, especially at the forgiving AND the forgetting. I’m getting pretty good at the forgiving part, but the forgetting part drags me down. And isn’t the forgetting part just as important, or more important, as the forgiving part?

We need to follow Jesus’ example and repay hate with kindness. Exchange hate taken into love given. Try to remember what Jesus said when he told us that the last on earth shall be the first in heaven. Learn to turn the other cheek without a roundhouse left hook following closely behind.

God knows our problems. He appreciates the burdens we bear. He loves us with all our scars and baggage. All we need to do is trust in Him and do as Jesus says:

Treat others as you would like people to treat you. ‘Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.’  – Luke 6:31,36-37

Copyright 2015, Mike Hays

Mike Hays

Mike Hays is a husband, a father of three, a lifelong Kansan and works as a molecular microbiologist. Besides writing, he has been a high school strength and conditioning coach, a football coach and a baseball coach. His debut middle grade historical fiction novel, THE YOUNGER DAYS, is a 2012 recipient of The Catholic Writer's Guild Seal of Approval Award. You can find it at the publisher's website or on Amazon.