“You Christians love to tell others how
they’re messing up, but you too refuse to follow Jesus!” he charged.
I asked Bob what he meant. He responded,
“Jesus taught you to turn the other cheek, but you want to bomb the snot out of
ISIS. Jesus taught you to give to anyone who asks, but you won’t give me a
miserable $20!”
This is a serious
charge. If Bob is right, then we are hypocrites,
telling others to follow Jesus, while we refuse to follow him.
I wanted to answer Bob, but I knew that the
answer would not be satisfying. It required more than a one verse rebuttal.
Besides, Luke did write:
- "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. (Luke 6:27-30)
Admittedly, this is a difficult set of verses
to interpret. One reason that it is difficult is because it seems to contradict
many other verses. Paul had instructed that we shouldn’t give to everyone who asks. If someone refuses to work, we
would be doing wrongly to support him (2 Thess. 3:10). Even Jesus taught that
there are occasions when we shouldn’t
give. We shouldn’t waste our pearls of wisdom on those who will turn against us
(Matthew 7:6). Even Jesus did not give to all
who ask. James and John requested Jesus to make them His co-regents once He’d
set up His kingdom. However, He turned them down!
Do we then have a contradiction, or is there a
way to resolve this apparent contradiction? Yes! Jesus spoke in parables, often
using hyperbole (exaggerated language):
- And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:30)
No one takes this literally. If we did, the
church would be filled with handless people. Likewise, no one takes Jesus’
command to “pluck out your eye” literally. However, His hyperbolic language
makes a powerful point: “If cutting of your hand could keep you from sin and
hell, then it would be a small price to pay!”
Here is
another way to know that we have correctly interpreted Jesus’ sayings. If our
interpretation does not lead to behavior honorable in the sight of
non-believers, it is probably not the right interpretation:
- Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (Proverbs 13:15-16; 3:4; 14:35)
When we
walk in the wisdom of Scripture, it should win others’ respect. For example, we
should not literally give to everyone who asks. If my friend asks me for a gun
to shoot his wife and I give it, this will not win the respect or “favor” of
our neighbors. However, when we do act according to the knowledge of the Lord,
we will win their respect. This is why our interpretation of Scripture should
reveal what is honorable before all:
- for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. (2 Corinthians 8:21)
Would
it be honorable for a Christian policeman to “turn the other cheek” while an
innocent person is being mugged? Would it be honorable for a Christian judge to
“turn the other cheek” and release a convicted murderer? Of course, not! It
would bring disrepute upon the faith. Instead, our interpretations should lead
us to do good and make peace:
- For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Romans 14:17-19)
We want
to show the world that Christ has given us wisdom and that we are peace makers
and conflict resolvers. If I interpret “turn the cheek” to mean that I don’t
bring charges against the arsonist who just robbed and burned down my house, he
will probably do it again. And when he does it to my neighbor’s house, he will
denounce me and my faith because it prevented me from bringing peace to the
neighborhood.
This
doesn’t mean that the unbeliever will always give credit where credit is due:
- Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:12; 3:16)
Even
when the unbeliever speaks against our good behavior, they know better and will
be convicted and perhaps come to repentance through this.
All of
this suggests that we must not be quick to take Jesus’ teachings literally.
For years, I had struggled with Jesus’ elusive
teachings. Should I turn my cheek when my students were misbehaving, even to
the point of threatening other students? Fortunately, I decided against this
kind of turning the other cheek. It would have brought utter disrespect upon me
and upon the church.
It eventually became apparent to me that if I
took Jesus literally, I would violate other biblical commands. If my friend
asked to borrow my gun so that he could shoot his wife, such giving would
violate the law of love. Perhaps, a ridiculous looking interpretation of giving
is ridiculous and wrong-headed.
I began to ask, “Does the context of this
teaching give me the justification to take Jesus’ teaching hyperbolically.” I
dreaded the idea of misapplying His teaching merely to enable me to live with
it. However, I did find grounds in the following verses:
- “Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:31-36)
Often, Jesus gives us the key to unlock the
interpretation. It seems that He had in this case. When I began to see His
teaching on giving in the light of the over-arching principle of love and
mercy, it began to make sense.
I had to be ready to give to others in love.
If giving isn’t in the best interests
of the other person, then I shouldn’t
give. I had to learn the difference between destructive, disempowering,
indulgent giving and giving that would empower. Paul had argued against the
church supporting certain widows because this would enable them to sin.
Instead, he argued that the younger widows should marry and that the widow’s
family should support her where necessary (1 Tim. 5:3-8).
Jesus argued that our mercy should reflect the
wisdom of God’s mercy (Luke 6:36). What does that look like? It looks like
what’s been written in the Hebrew Scriptures, what else! There, we find giving
accompanied by accountability. God
displayed a major interest in the welfare of the poor and needy but in a loving
way. He wouldn’t de-motivate them with handouts but instead required that the
fields be available to the poor to glean the remains.
We have a weighty responsibility for the poor,
but it must be exercised wisely, lovingly, and scripturally. Also seen from the
point of view of God’s revelation, “turning the other cheek” was not a command
to fire every policeman and tear down every jail. Instead, it was a warning
against taking the law into our own
hands to seek revenge. Instead, it reflects the Bible’s emphasis on the civil
magistrate (Romans 13:1-4) as opposed to vigilantism.
Bob would not sit still for this explanation,
but at least I can assure myself that I am not a hypocrite.
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