Turn the other cheek

• Proverbs 12:16 (MSG)

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This is what Jesus meant by turn the other cheek when someone strikes you. You see, what we see is that someone physically assaulted you and that causes us to want to fight back. However, in Jesus' day, someone striking you on the cheek was not an act of violence. In Jesus day striking on the cheek was an insult. It was telling someone they were worthless. They were scum and of no value or consequence. So what Jesus was saying was, when someone insults you, don't get all mad and explode in anger and begin plotting how to get revenge. Instead, quietly shrug off that insult, pray for that person and do good to them so that they can see your Heavenly Father at work in your life. Jesus never asked us to be walked on or abused. In fact, the Bible says that Jesus took up the case of the abused and the oppressed. But Jesus does ask us to never retaliate when we are insulted. He wants us to shrug it off because we are not who people say we are. We are who God says we are.

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