Turn the Other Cheek

Summertime — typically a time to rest, rejuvenate, and relax — especially as a teacher, this time is sacred, and should be utilized to restore energy. I did a lot of resting in the Lord, and a little bit of relaxing, but mostly I spent my summer playing, laughing, talking, and washing a lot of dishes. I worked as a camp counselor for the kitchen crew for six weeks this summer, and although it was slightly exhausting at times, it was mostly rewarding. Throughout all of it I learned many things. I learned that it’s more fun to play the sport, even if you’re bad at it, than to sit on the sidelines watching. I learned that it’s more enjoyable to wash pots & pans with someone else rather than doing it alone. I learned about my friends’ hardships and heartaches, and I learned how to listen to them. I learned how to lead while fully relying on the Lord and His strength. I learned that sometimes giving a stern talking to (although it may not be fun) can be the most effective method. Sometimes a push in the right direction is exactly the push we need, no matter how critical or offensive that push may seem. But I think the biggest lesson I learned is that, although seemingly impossible, oftentimes the best thing we can do for one another is turning the other cheek.

In Matthew  5:39-42, Jesus says, “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to steal from you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

But what does this really mean?

There are so many dynamics that will come out when putting together a group of vastly different people, from different places, especially when they have to work together to accomplish the same goal. This summer, for two weeks at a time, that was what was occurring. Around 13-20 new campers would come in to work in the kitchen, serving food, cleaning dishes, and helping keep camp functioning. And we would all have to work together. How did we do this? Well, if we’re being honest, a lot of times we failed. Whether it was the campers or the counselors, we fell into different sins that are natural when working with a group: mean words, gossip, annoyance, anger, frustration, bitterness, among other things, appeared in one form or another with each group of counselors and with each group of campers.

I say these sins are natural because we are all born natural sinners. Sin is something that comes easily to us, no matter how we fight it or dislike it. In Romans 7, Paul says, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

He says here that even though we do not want to continue sinning, and maybe we don’t even understand why we keep on sinning, we do, simply because it is in our nature. It is a war waged deep in our minds — a war between the flesh and the Spirit.

How do we win this war?

By seeking Jesus. By asking Him persistently to make us more like Him. By asking Him to help us to be gentle. To be gracious. To be forgiving. And to turn the other cheek. When someone is mean to us, we choose to say something nice in return. We choose to give someone a gift, even if they have stolen from us or if they have harmed us. We choose to be kind to someone who is, in our minds, making our experience miserable. We look outside of ourselves. Truly outside of ourselves.

How can I serve someone today? How can I think of myself less?

And we do all of these things by the Lord’s strength. Because how could we do it on our own?