Protecting Loved Ones
- Thread starter Mr. Adam
- Start date
The Bible does command us to show the other cheek if we are hit on one.. At the same time, Bible also explains responsibilities of father, husband, wife.. I firmly believe a father and husband should provide protection for his child or wife. It is a responsibility. Man should keep his family away from any danger. So to your question, yes, it is not wrong to stand up.
When the bible talks about turning the other cheek it means toward persecution religiously. If someone is out there to harm you because they want to or for a crime then yes it is your responsibility to protect that person. If someone attacks you because you are a Christian then yes turn the other cheek and take the persecution. There is a big difference between persecution and just down right assault.
I'm strictly talking New Testament.
In the understanding of Man, we will not understand that of God. His ways are not of our own.
If someone were to hit my Girlfriend in front of me, I would honestly deck him out of complete respect for my girlfriend. Yet...that is what I would do, and I am a sinful man, just like the rest...what I am asking is that ok. Or should I humble myself and let him take care of the situation as need be.
In the understanding of Man, we will not understand that of God. His ways are not of our own.
If someone were to hit my Girlfriend in front of me, I would honestly deck him out of complete respect for my girlfriend. Yet...that is what I would do, and I am a sinful man, just like the rest...what I am asking is that ok. Or should I humble myself and let him take care of the situation as need be.
Even Christ Himself did not literally turn the other cheek when smitten by a member of the Sanhedrin (John 18:22-23), or when struck on the face by the palms of the Roman guards (Matthew 26:67-68, Mark 14:65, Luke 22:64).
Matthew 5:39 is speaking about the custom of the Romans when a superior would demand obedience from an inferior. Christ was showing disdain for them when he said to turn the other cheek. When struck by a Roman superior in the first century, you where to drop to one knee or put your forehead in the dirt before them. To turn the other cheek to him would be a very defiant act when you were struck on the face. We are not to resist with violence, of course, but with love. That is truly resisting evil.
By simply turning the other cheek for him to hit, you are refusing to partake of the evil resulting from bowing to man, and at the same time you are not reverting to violence. We are to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). You are showing him, out of love, that you can only bow to One Lord, and no man will you ever bow down to. You show him that you will place God's command above man's command, no matter what the consequences will be. You are willing to take the punishment, and are willing to get "hit again" by your enemies, but you will stand firm in God's Law of love. By taking a stand such as this, the one who hits you may very well flee from you (James 4:7).
I think that passage is for us to pause before you react, to give yourself time to react properly, not out of emotion.