Did Jesus, who had a hand in the creation of man, command us to do something anatomically impossible? We are told in the Sermon on the Mount that if someone strikes us on the cheek, that we need to turn the other cheek and get ready to be hit again. What happens when I run out of cheeks? I only have two. Is it ever appropriate for me to fight back?
Some of you say the answer is no. You’re going to tell me that fighting back will hurt my witness or that Christ withstood a scourging and a crucifixion and didn’t do squat about it, and if he can do all of that for me, I should be able to take a few hits on this earth. You’re also going to remind me that Jesus said we could expect no less than to be beheaded for following Him. To that end, I agree with you. But I don’t think Jesus intended for us to be passive 100 percent of the time. I agree that if the world beats us down and takes all we have and leaves us with just the shirts on our backs we should offer them that, too. I understand that persecution is inevitable and we should handle it with grace.
But what about when it isn’t the world? What about when it is from within the church? How many times can we turn the other cheek when one of our so-called brothers or sisters has decided to lay the smackdown on us?
How long do we have to be nice and at what point do we start demanding accountability? My wife has worked for a couple of Christian organizations. One of them didn’t like that she was taking anti- depressants and told her to hit the road. Doing that is illegal, but we’re not supposed to sue other believers, so we took it and went away.
Now that she’s been diagnosed with a chronic illness, her current employer has asked that she re-consider her employment. No doctor has said she can’t work, and her illness is covered under Americans with disabilities. I don’t have another cheek to turn. Besides, wouldn’t throwing up our hands and moving on send the message that it’s okay for Christians to act above the law?
Where did we get the idea that being a Christian means we always have to be nice? Is it because Jesus told us to love one another? Doesn’t love sometimes correct? Is it because Jesus went to the cross passively?
Might I remind you that the same Jesus who went passively to the cross, upon seeing his fellow Jews in the Temple making a mockery out of the sacrifice ordained by His Father, made a whip and unloaded a can of whoop-ass all over his Father’s house. Jesus took it from the world, but he held the religious accountable.
I’m tired of being nice. I’m tired of just letting people who claim the name of Christ judge people, treat them horribly, act unethically, break laws that even the worst of secular companies follows, all because they think they are “different” or “set apart.” Wrong is wrong. I’m tired of people thinking they are right to do wrong to others. I am tired of phony accountability, where we open in prayer, sit in a room and talk about how we were hurt, hold hands and sing kum-ba-ya, pray again and forget anything ever happened.
Christians who break the law should face due process. We are still held accountable to the laws of whatever land we live in. Christians who wrong other Christians should face church discipline, and Christians who watch all of this going on should stand up and do something instead of just saying, “Well, I’m sure God has something better planned for you. I’ll be praying for you.”
For the passive onlookers who sit and watch the injustices committed by modern Christianity, let me ask you a question… Would Jesus do that? Would he ignore the fact that some of his people are oppressing others? Or would he raise a stink and drive them out?
It may “hurt our witness” to stand and fight when we feel it is the right time, but do you have any idea how much more it hurts our witness when people see our leaders acting unethically and we do nothing about it?