Friday, September 22, 2006
Failing To Turn The Other Cheek
I am saddened to hear that, according to this report, some Christians have responded violently in Indonesia following the execution of three believers. We must not succumb to that temptation but instead follow the example of Christ, Paul and the myriad of martyrs throughout the ages.
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3 comments:
I don't know the details. What I do know is that someone has to bring these idiots to heel. I am not surprised that Christians have fought back- not every Christian is as cosy out in the world as they are here. Let's see anyone quote that 'turn the other cheek' stuff when someone's at the door with a lynching rope.
You know what? If some scumbag comes at me with a noose because I'm a Chritian, I'm gonna put my thumb in his eye- why? Because I value my life, and I'm sure God values it as well. Maybe you don't value your life and your freedom, but I do. Apparently, some Christians in Indonesia do, as well. There's difference between turning the other cheek and letting yourself get killed witout a fight.
Oh, and you know what the sick irony of all this is? The Pope says Muslims are violent (which is true). They get upest about it...and then prove him right by murdering people. I have little pity for a society that breeds this kind of seething hatred and stupidity.
And you know what else? There's a day coming. It's called Judgement Day. That's the day God Himself stops 'turning the other cheek' and busts out those big, beefy arms of his. And then the reckoning begins. I'm not saying that we are God, or they we are supposed to do God's job; what I am saying is that even God has a limit when he has gotten tired of HUmanity's BS.
So don't be surprised if some people start cracking skulls early.
While it is admittedly easier for us who live in the blessed peace of a culture that, for now, has not turned on Christianity in a violent way, let us remember that the man who posted this blog went to Indonesia during a month when Muslims were rioting and killing Christians. Their team had the choice to play it safe and stay home; they chose, instead, to go and to serve.
We often exhort ourselves to trust God. Well, God has said that revenge is His. If we truly believe that there is a very real day coming on which all will stand in judgment before God, then why is it that we do not trust Him to deal with our adversaries on that day?
Perhaps it is because we are not so like Christ as we might hope.
Furthermore, that "'turn the other cheek' stuff'" is a direct command from the one who we have pledged to serve. It was acted out in Gethsemane when a group of His enemies came with swords to arrest Him. He could have called down a legion of angels. Instead, He healed the severed ear of His assailant. Is this a hard lesson? Yes. But I don’t know where He ever said that it was going to be easy.
I do not claim to be a pacifist. I do the best that I can to avoid circumstances that have a high likelihood of violence. However, I am still inclined to believe that if someone comes for me or mine, I will not turn the other cheek but will defend me and my loved ones to my death or to the death of those that attack me.
But let us make no pretense here and claim or imply that this is a justified action. It is weakness on my part. It is lack of trust. It is a lack of faith. It is nothing less that sin. The proper response is humility. It is to hope for mercy that I don’t deserve and conformity to an image of a love that I can not possibly comprehend and do not profess to even be close to yet.
Let us also be clear on the eternal ramifications here. Many Christians believe that the hope of being saved is to make “a choice” for Christ in this life. If I kill a person that has not made that choice, then I have sent him to eternal damnation. This, I believe, is rather counter productive considering Christ’s mission.
I have no desire to be a martyr. I want to die in a warm bed, in my sleep at an old age having spent my years in comfort. But the fact of the matter is that one day I might face that choice. How faithful will I be in that moment?
Perhaps there is another underlying question exposed in all of this.
How deeply do I believe that eternal life with God is on the other side of that choice? Or, to put it another way, do I truly believe that for me to die is to gain?
The Prayer of Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
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