This text in Matthew 5:38-42 is about as straight forward as you can get. Turn the other cheek, give more than what is being demanded of you, and volunteer the second mile. Early in the week I kept asking myself, “When does this not apply?” I kept searching for the areas in which self preservation and dignity trumped turning, giving, and walking.
As part of my study on this text I read an article that argued with Jesus’ philosophy espoused here that was the basis for Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to the Civil Right Movement. He wrote, “The Sermon on the Mount could work- if everyone would observe its precepts at once. Where MLK is in philosophical error, one suspects, is the naïveté of applying the Sermon on the Mount in a world that is as corrupt and already evil as our own...”
It was on reading that I stopped asking the question, “When does this not apply?” You see, this man pointed out Dr. King’s “philosophical error” on the basis of the fact that it cost Dr. King his life. He turned the other cheek and was assassinated. What this man failed to see was that one, the Civil Rights Movement under King’s leadership worked. And that two, the gospel never demanded anything less than our whole lives; that discipleship is patent self denial that involves losing life that we might find it.
The burden isn’t in straining to discover when this doesn’t apply but in giving away our lives in a way that makes it apply. This involves two things.
First, the left cheek and the second mile involve resting secure in our identity as children of God. We defend ourselves against abuses and mistreatment to prove that we have value. The value that we have as human beings is intrinsic. But resting secure in who I am as God’s own adopted son trumps any dignity I can establish by demanding respect through the act of not allowing myself to be shamed by another human being. Roman’s 8:14-18 is all the security we need in order to be relieved of the burden of demanding respect.
Second, the left cheek and second mile involve trusting God to provide for us. We defend ourselves against abuses and mistreatment because ultimately we don’t trust God to care for us. When has God proven himself untrustworthy?
A life that turns the left cheek and walks the second mile is a life that proclaims the gospel. It’s a life lived in the security of who God says we are. It’s a life lived in the resounding faith of our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days!
Pastor Scott
P.S. After I preached I fielded many questions along the lines of self defense and protecting one’s family. The second part of the greatest commandment is to love others as you love yourself. The left cheek and the second mile don’t involve ceasing to value life by allowing oneself to be brutalized.
As part of my study on this text I read an article that argued with Jesus’ philosophy espoused here that was the basis for Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to the Civil Right Movement. He wrote, “The Sermon on the Mount could work- if everyone would observe its precepts at once. Where MLK is in philosophical error, one suspects, is the naïveté of applying the Sermon on the Mount in a world that is as corrupt and already evil as our own...”
It was on reading that I stopped asking the question, “When does this not apply?” You see, this man pointed out Dr. King’s “philosophical error” on the basis of the fact that it cost Dr. King his life. He turned the other cheek and was assassinated. What this man failed to see was that one, the Civil Rights Movement under King’s leadership worked. And that two, the gospel never demanded anything less than our whole lives; that discipleship is patent self denial that involves losing life that we might find it.
The burden isn’t in straining to discover when this doesn’t apply but in giving away our lives in a way that makes it apply. This involves two things.
First, the left cheek and the second mile involve resting secure in our identity as children of God. We defend ourselves against abuses and mistreatment to prove that we have value. The value that we have as human beings is intrinsic. But resting secure in who I am as God’s own adopted son trumps any dignity I can establish by demanding respect through the act of not allowing myself to be shamed by another human being. Roman’s 8:14-18 is all the security we need in order to be relieved of the burden of demanding respect.
Second, the left cheek and second mile involve trusting God to provide for us. We defend ourselves against abuses and mistreatment because ultimately we don’t trust God to care for us. When has God proven himself untrustworthy?
A life that turns the left cheek and walks the second mile is a life that proclaims the gospel. It’s a life lived in the security of who God says we are. It’s a life lived in the resounding faith of our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days!
Pastor Scott
P.S. After I preached I fielded many questions along the lines of self defense and protecting one’s family. The second part of the greatest commandment is to love others as you love yourself. The left cheek and the second mile don’t involve ceasing to value life by allowing oneself to be brutalized.
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