What do you do when you are mistreated?  If there was any one area that epitomizes what being a Christian is all about, the area of retaliation would be it.  There is a great contrast between how the world acts when it is mistreated and the way Christians in the kingdom of God are supposed to act.  Listen to Jesus speak about how we are to respond to being mistreated.

Matthew 5:39 (ESV)
³⁹  But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

We would probably all agree that this is a difficult saying to adhere to, but it is an important part of our Christianity because it involves doing what Jesus so often did when He was here on earth.

The fact that Jesus identifies the right cheek as the one that is struck is significant.  For a right-handed man to hit another on the right cheek, he would have to do it with his backhand.  Thus, most scholars affirm that this refers not to a blow in anger, but a backhand slap of contempt.  To be slapped with one’s backhand would be even more humiliating than a punch in the nose.  The injury would not be so much a sore right cheek as it would be a case of wounded pride.  In such a case, Jesus said, “Turn to him the other also.”  Jesus is not telling one to do this literally, for that would be to invite the striker to do that which is manifestly wrong.  Even Jesus Himself did not do this when He was struck in the face.

John 18:22-23 (ESV)
²²  When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” ²³  Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”

It must also be pointed out that Jesus is not teaching us here that it is wrong to protect oneself when his life is threatened.  In other words, this is not a prohibition against self-defense. Jesus is simply saying that when it comes down to trivial matters where only pride is injured, do not give the assailant the pleasure of a response.  Do not retaliate in a like manner.  Instead, swallow your pride and let it go.  Everybody will be better off if you take that course of action.

This principle can be seen in many walks of life.  Co-workers will sometimes wound your pride by committing some kind of minor offense against you.  Schoolmates might do the same thing.  Even strangers on the street may do or say something to you that is offensive.  The question is, what do you do about it?  What do you do when a car on the highway cuts in front of you?  What do you do when a co-worker makes a slanderous remark about you?  The normal response is to cast a smart remark right back, but Jesus says that is not how we are to act in the kingdom of God.  In the kingdom, we turn the other cheek, that is, we swallow our pride and walk away.  In the kingdom, we overcome evil with good by controlling our natural inclinations and making a decision not to retaliate.

There are four ways to respond to someone who mistreats us: 1) If he hurts me, I will hurt him the same way – that is retaliation.  2) If he hurts me, I will hurt him more – that is vindictiveness.  3) If he hurts me, I will ignore him and have nothing to do with him – that is disdain.  4) If he hurts me, I will love and serve him – that is the way of Christ!  This is the way of true righteousness and the way we must behave in the kingdom of God.

The Pharisee would say, “If someone hits you, you have a God-given right to strike them back,”  but that attitude is produced by a misinterpretation of the Law.  Personal retaliation is condemned in the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament.  Remember, our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20).

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.