The Power of Turning the Other Cheek

For many years I struggled with Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 5:39-41 to turn the other cheek. He says:

But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

This used to really frustrate me. It felt like not only was the bully getting away with the evil act they were comitting, but I would also be enabling them. It felt like adding insult to injury - making the victim pay back to the bully even more than what was stolen from them is insane. How can that be justice?

On top of all of that, the Bible even says in James 4:7b to resist the devil. So why would Jesus tell us not to resist an evil person?

It’s all about the power.

The Power of Turning the Other Cheek

If a bully tries to steal from me and he succeeds, what makes me a victim? That sense of helplessness, that there is nothing I can do. That raw feeling of injustice and the sense that the wrong can’t be righted, that I can’t regain what was lost, that wrong things are just left to stand in the world when they should never have been allowed in the first place.

Being helpless makes you a victim.

Being compassionate makes you a victor.

Why is showing compassion to the bully helpful? Isn’t that just enabling the bully? Actually, no - it’s moving the power back to you. In a bully/victim situation, the bully has power and the victim is powerless. The reason you leave that situation feeling cruddy is because you leave knowing that the bully has power and control over you and you feel powerless to do anything about it.

When Jesus tells you to turn the other cheek, He’s telling you what you can do. He’s moving all the power back to you.

Taking action puts you in charge.

As I’ve mentioned before, Jesus Himself, as the Son of God and also the living Word through Whom the entire universe was created, wasn’t crucified because some bad guys got away with something. He was crucified because He chose to allow it. See what He says in John 10:18:

No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.

Jesus has all power and all authority (Matthew 28:18). Nobody can kill Him. The only reason another person is allowed to have the upper hand over Him is if He chooses to let them.

The same is true of us, because Jesus died to give us His inheritance, which includes authority over the earth if we remain faithful to Him. People can only harm us if we let them.

What I mean by this is that we always have the final say. We always have the last word. We get to determine whether our interaction with another person will go down in history as an injustice we are forced to live with or an act of kindness we performed out of a heart of generosity. Jesus gives us that choice.

The Power of Choosing the Right Attitude

I’d like to point out now that we each have a choice in what our attitude will be in every situation, and your attitude is a weapon. In 1 Peter 4:1, the Apostle Peter tells us to arm ourselves with the same attitude that Jesus had. Just like mercy is actually a weapon, our choice to extend kindness to someone who is trying to victimize us is also a weapon. It is a greater weapon than their evil, and it gives us the victory.

When you choose of your own free will, not because anyone is coercing you or forcing you, to show kindness to your enemy, it strips the bully of his power and puts you in the place of higher authority. Take a look at this.

Hebrews 7:7 says in no uncertain terms:

And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.

A bully tries to take power and control over you, but he has no authority to take anything from you. When you choose to bless instead of curse the person who intends to do you harm, it is a weapon that destroys all attempts to make you a victim. Instead, it places you in a position of power and authority over your bully.

That’s why Jesus urges us in Matthew 5:42:

Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

The person who gives, not the person who takes, is the one who finishes on top.