Turn the Other Cheek

You have all heard it said in the Bible “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matt 5:39, (NIV).

In our lives as humans, we are often presented with situations in which we believe we have to turn the other cheek. In far too many cases, we are up against our bosses at work, the law, society, our wives, husbands, and even our children. We often have to make on the spot decisions on things that we are presented with. Many of those decisions are based on our knowledge at the time and even if someone else has more up to date information, our decisions are ours. Sometimes we are confronted by others about those decisions and are required to defend them. We have to make immediate decisions that require an answer now. But far too often we will not speak up to defend ourselves, letting it go until later, but later never seems to come, and we take upon ourselves far more problems than we can imagine.

We have a great tendency to internalize problems, and this leads to more serious problems in the future. Some people develop stomach problems, heart problems, while other develops cancer, or some other debilitating disease that may lead to physical death. No one that I know of wants to be in that kind of situation, but it seems that it happens on a regular basis. Some people seem to have the means at their disposal to deal with such problems, while other never seems to be able to come to terms with them.

In my many years of physical life, I have had to deal with problems that are, in most part, problems that have no immediate solution, but required immediate answers that another would accept. And yet others seem to have their own preconceived ideas about the problem and have their own answers, and that is their absolute right, and anything that we may say is going to be totally wrong in their minds. The question that comes up is; “why are you confronting me with a problem if you already have your own answers?” Indeed, why? That is the real question.

I cannot take that kind of confrontation and maneuvering by others. I need others respect and understanding so that I can deal with things properly. How ever, it seems to me that we are required to be extremely diplomatic in this world. So diplomatic, that we are able to say the right things at the right time. Make the right decisions and yet present ourselves to our “opponent” as the really capable and intelligent person we are. However, I am one of those many people who, far too often, do not want any kind of confrontations in my life and I have a tendency to not defend myself and present my reasoning for the decisions I make. It seems that my answers only lead to more confrontation with people. I should have spoken up and saved myself from becoming miserable later because of my inaction. My antagonist always seems to get the upper hand and I’m left with a problem that is worse than the original one. What to do?

What to do? The $64000 question! For the most part, I just walk away and wish that the other person could have been totally honest with me. People need to be fair and honest with at all times and maybe save them and us from some of the hidden misery that resulted from our actions. This may just save us all from stomach problems, cancer or some other physical prob­lems that could develop in us later in life.

The thing of it is; nothing needs to be said to those of us who beat ourselves up daily over words that may or may not have affected another person. All of us need to take a closer look at ourselves and meditate on our lives and our actions, make better decisions and make appropriate corrections to our way of thinking and acting. Being more respectful of others and tolerant in our dealings would go along way.