Opinion: What did Jesus mean in his teachings to 'turn the other cheek'?
Matthew 5:39 of the New Testament of the Bible tells a story about when Jesus told a large group of listeners that if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek to the offender. On many occasions this teaching has been used to illustrate the passivity of Jesus but if one considers these instructions carefully, one would realize that in order to turn the other cheek to the offender, the offended would need to turn and put his/her back to the offender. So not only are we witnessing passivity but we are witnessing defiance. It appears that the lesson is not only about resisting violence for violence but is also about a rejection of violence altogether.So, where am I going with this? To start with, the need for individuals to win regardless of costs and to be in control of the events around them has proven to be a human characteristic for generations. So many stories in history are about domination of one group over another or encouraging a dispute or conflict among others. In this country we are living amidst conflicts that have no logical reasons for existing. Here is just one example.Both my wife and I are Southern born and Southern raised. However, we spent a large portion of our married life above the Mason-Dixon Line, a few years in Minnesota and over 30 years in Vermont. While living there, our Southern heritage and culture helped to define us, sometimes to our asset and sometimes to our detriment. We chose to embrace our Southern roots and to share our Southern heritage with others and with pride.Embracing our Southern culture took the form of becoming engulfed in the African American experience. We took time to learn the culture, to experience the culture when the opportunity presented itself and to share what we learned with the people around us. To sum up our knowledge and experience, one must talk about overwhelming hardship, oppression and discrimination, survival and the struggle for recognition and appreciation. Their journey was a dangerous one defined by abuse from others striving to make a profit from their labor. The African American music tells this story in a vivid, soul stirring and heartwarming fashion.For going on a decade, we have called the Blue Ridge Mountains home. Upon moving to the Blue Ridge, we found ourselves surrounded by a different but equally fascinating culture defined by generations of Scots-Irish folks isolated from the rest of the world by the rugged terrain that defined their home for generations. For generations it was a life of overwhelming hardship, oppression and discrimination, survival, and the struggle for recognition and appreciation. Their journey was a dangerous one defined by abuse from others striving to make a profit from their labor. The mountain music tells this story in a vivid, soul stirring and heartwarming fashion.Here are two entirely different cultures finding home in this country for entirely different reasons but end up with basically the same experiences but often at odds with each other. While their experiences might be seen as a reason for unity, it is not in the interest of those with power and influence for this unity to transpire. If these cultures were to unite in a common cause, it would place those with power and influence in fear of losing their power and influence.Mathew 5:39 “... But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” There is a significant lesson in this short statement. It might be time to tell the manipulators who are creating conflict to stop. It really does not matter which side of the argument one might endorse — conflict among the less fortunate benefits only the more fortunate regardless of the side of the divide one finds oneself.Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, as well as so many others, gave us a path to avoid allowing conflict to rule our lives. In a world so divided and so driven by conflict, maybe it is time for us, as individuals, to say stop and state “I will no longer allow conflict to define me and the world around me!”
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Lee Sease lives in Burnsville. He is a former Superintendent of Schools in Middlebury, Vermont.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: What did Jesus mean in his teachings to turn the other cheek?
