Being Stabbed in the Back
Matthew 5:38-42 You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too. If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile, go with him two. Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you.
Relationships can be fickle things, particularly when people start behaving badly. That’s why it’s so incredibly important for us to develop the wisdom and the maturity to handle those difficult situations lovingly, and effectively.
Without doubt, one of the finest pieces of television ever created is the British comedy series “Yes Prime Minister”. And one of its best lines, coming from the Machiavellian head of the British Civil Service, Sir Humphrey Appleby, as he was talking to a junior colleague, was this: “Remember Bernard, you have to get behind someone before you can stab them in the back.” Brilliant and true.
We’ve all been stabbed in the back, haven’t we, and it’s not a nice feeling. So when it happens, how do you respond? Our natural instinct is to get even; to do the same back to them. But in military terms, that’s what called an escalation and escalations rarely make things better in relationships.
So let me ask you, what if you were the person who developed a reputation for turning the other cheek; for supporting and encouraging the very individual who stabbed you in the back?
What would people think of you then?
Matthew 5:38-42 You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, don’t fight back against someone who wants to do harm to you. If they hit you on the right cheek, let them hit the other cheek too. If anyone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile, go with him two. Give to anyone who asks you for something. Don’t refuse to give to anyone who wants to borrow from you.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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