What would you do if someone flicked you off on the road?
What would you do if someone flicked you off on the road because you cut them off…rudely?
What would you do if someone flicked you off on the road because you had cut them off rudely and flicked them off?
What would you do if someone flicked you off on the road because you were a Christian?
Jesus says, when someone slaps you on the cheek, give them the other cheek. I get flicked off more often than I get slapped so we’ll use that as an example.
If somebody drives by me and flicks me off (or makes any rude gesture, honks, or yells) how I take it depends on what I’ve done. If I haven’t done anything… I just smile and (secretly) laugh at them because they don’t know what they’re talking about or they don’t know the rules of the road themselves. If I have done something wrong (and I have before) then I understand why they would flick me off and I kind of accept it even though I think it’s inappropriate and insecure to flick someone off. If I got flicked off because I was a Christian (this hasn’t happened before) I would praise God for counting me worthy to suffer for His name’s sake.
So when someone slaps us or flicks us off, how we react depends on whether we deserve to be slapped or flicked off. In one sense no one deserves either, they’re abusive, embarrassing, and impetuous (lacking in self-control) acts. In another sense we all deserve much worse than to be slapped or flicked off. We deserve God’s anger and wrath a hundred times over for our sin. We deserve death and hell for what we’ve done.
Why does it hurt so bad when someone slaps us? It’s not just about the physical pain… being slapped is embarrassing. It’s like someone saying, “You’re worse than worthless.” And if we don’t do anything, or if we offer them the other cheek it feels like we’re accepting their assessment of us. We want to fight back to let them know that we’re not worthless. We want to fight back to let them know that indeed it’s they who are worse than worthless. We want to fight back to let others know that they can’t treat us that way. We want to fight back to let our abuser know that they can’t treat others that way. We want to fight back because we feel unprotected and we must protect ourselves.
Are you afraid of looking bad? Being embarrassed? Being hurt? Being weak? Being taken advantage of? Only then will you really need God. Then you will really start to understand how bad you are, how embarrassing you are, how vulnerable you are, how weak you are. Only in weakness, in wounded-ness, does God become our strength, our salvation, our protection, our source of value.
When you’re in an uncomfortable situation, when someone is hurting you we’ve been told there are only two options: FIGHT or FLIGHT.
But Jesus is telling us there’s a third option: BE A LIGHT.
Jesus was in an uncomfortable situation. People were hurting Jesus. But Jesus didn’t run away. Jesus doesn’t say run away. Jesus doesn’t say, “fight to the death.” Jesus says stay and be a light. Why? Because God says, “I’m better than running away; I will be your hiding place. I’m better than fighting, I will fight for you.”
I hope you don’t get slapped on a regular basis but even if you don’t this message applies even to you. Let me try to illustrate:
What would you do if someone gave you advice?
What would you do if someone gave you advice about something you’d done wrong?
What would you do if someone gave you advice about something you’d done wrong and they were right?
Here’s what you do; you don’t run away. You don’t get defensive and shoot advice right back at them. You take the knife; pull it in. You say, thank you, is there anything else I can work on. Is there anything else? Is there anything else? Is there anything else?
I don’t know how many of you have enemies. But you all have parents; you all have siblings. When they hurt you, when they abuse you, really listen to them, listen even to the anger and abuse, knowing that you deserve far worse, but what you get everyday is grace instead.
I know someone who was abused, who still bears the scars of being abused, you can see it every time he smiles, and he does smile. He says that he learned from the abuse what anger and what punishment his sins truly deserve. He praises God everyday that he doesn’t get a punch in the mouth every time he sins though that’s what he deserves.
Jesus had some cheek to say “turn the other cheek.” But then again, Jesus didn’t just say “turn the other cheek.” He turned the other cheek even unto death so that he might show us a new and better way: not “fight,” not “flight,” but “stay and be a light.”
What would you do if someone flicked you off on the road because you cut them off…rudely?
What would you do if someone flicked you off on the road because you had cut them off rudely and flicked them off?
What would you do if someone flicked you off on the road because you were a Christian?
Jesus says, when someone slaps you on the cheek, give them the other cheek. I get flicked off more often than I get slapped so we’ll use that as an example.
If somebody drives by me and flicks me off (or makes any rude gesture, honks, or yells) how I take it depends on what I’ve done. If I haven’t done anything… I just smile and (secretly) laugh at them because they don’t know what they’re talking about or they don’t know the rules of the road themselves. If I have done something wrong (and I have before) then I understand why they would flick me off and I kind of accept it even though I think it’s inappropriate and insecure to flick someone off. If I got flicked off because I was a Christian (this hasn’t happened before) I would praise God for counting me worthy to suffer for His name’s sake.
So when someone slaps us or flicks us off, how we react depends on whether we deserve to be slapped or flicked off. In one sense no one deserves either, they’re abusive, embarrassing, and impetuous (lacking in self-control) acts. In another sense we all deserve much worse than to be slapped or flicked off. We deserve God’s anger and wrath a hundred times over for our sin. We deserve death and hell for what we’ve done.
Why does it hurt so bad when someone slaps us? It’s not just about the physical pain… being slapped is embarrassing. It’s like someone saying, “You’re worse than worthless.” And if we don’t do anything, or if we offer them the other cheek it feels like we’re accepting their assessment of us. We want to fight back to let them know that we’re not worthless. We want to fight back to let them know that indeed it’s they who are worse than worthless. We want to fight back to let others know that they can’t treat us that way. We want to fight back to let our abuser know that they can’t treat others that way. We want to fight back because we feel unprotected and we must protect ourselves.
Are you afraid of looking bad? Being embarrassed? Being hurt? Being weak? Being taken advantage of? Only then will you really need God. Then you will really start to understand how bad you are, how embarrassing you are, how vulnerable you are, how weak you are. Only in weakness, in wounded-ness, does God become our strength, our salvation, our protection, our source of value.
When you’re in an uncomfortable situation, when someone is hurting you we’ve been told there are only two options: FIGHT or FLIGHT.
But Jesus is telling us there’s a third option: BE A LIGHT.
Jesus was in an uncomfortable situation. People were hurting Jesus. But Jesus didn’t run away. Jesus doesn’t say run away. Jesus doesn’t say, “fight to the death.” Jesus says stay and be a light. Why? Because God says, “I’m better than running away; I will be your hiding place. I’m better than fighting, I will fight for you.”
I hope you don’t get slapped on a regular basis but even if you don’t this message applies even to you. Let me try to illustrate:
What would you do if someone gave you advice?
What would you do if someone gave you advice about something you’d done wrong?
What would you do if someone gave you advice about something you’d done wrong and they were right?
Here’s what you do; you don’t run away. You don’t get defensive and shoot advice right back at them. You take the knife; pull it in. You say, thank you, is there anything else I can work on. Is there anything else? Is there anything else? Is there anything else?
I don’t know how many of you have enemies. But you all have parents; you all have siblings. When they hurt you, when they abuse you, really listen to them, listen even to the anger and abuse, knowing that you deserve far worse, but what you get everyday is grace instead.
I know someone who was abused, who still bears the scars of being abused, you can see it every time he smiles, and he does smile. He says that he learned from the abuse what anger and what punishment his sins truly deserve. He praises God everyday that he doesn’t get a punch in the mouth every time he sins though that’s what he deserves.
Jesus had some cheek to say “turn the other cheek.” But then again, Jesus didn’t just say “turn the other cheek.” He turned the other cheek even unto death so that he might show us a new and better way: not “fight,” not “flight,” but “stay and be a light.”
