What It Really Means to Turn the Other Cheek
Why Turn the Other Cheek Feels Impossible
Imagine someone humiliating you in front of people you respect. What’s your gut reaction? Mine is anger and a hunger to get even. Most would agree that this is an appropriate response, but Jesus calls us to the opposite:
“But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39, ESV).
That’s the command commonly known as turning the other cheek, which sounds like weakness in a world that rewards standing your ground. And yet, Jesus handed us this different way to respond to insult and injury. It’s a call to trade retaliation for trust in a God who sees everything we go through.
A Command Built for Real Insults
The people listening to Jesus lived under “an eye for an eye,” a law meant to put limits on revenge and keep justice fair. Some might have thought Jesus was tearing that law down, but instead, He was pointing to something bigger. This would be a new way of life, marked by trust in God’s justice instead of our own.
A slap in the face back then was the same as it is today: public insult, meant to shame you in front of anyone watching. Turning the other cheek was a purposeful instruction that deals with the pain and the shame of what had taken place. It’s a refusal to let the insult define us, trusting God with the outcome instead of grabbing it back for ourselves.
Learning to Turn the Other Cheek Every Day
I’m convinced this gets easier with practice, even though it never really feels easy. Three things can help you live this out:
- Pause before you react. When someone wrongs you, take a breath and pray before you open your mouth or raise a hand. Prayer has a way of resetting your perspective.
- Choose forgiveness again…and again. Forgiveness isn’t a decision you make once. It’s a choice you keep making, and some days you need God’s strength to forgive just one more time.
- Let God handle the score. Let go of keeping track of what you’re owed. He sees what happened to you, and he’ll set things right in his own time.
The Cross Makes Sense of All of This
None of this holds up without the cross of Christ. Jesus endured the worst injustice anyone has ever faced, and from that cross he prayed a prayer of forgiveness:
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34, ESV).
When we choose to turn the other cheek, we’re reflecting the same grace that saved us. Some days will be easier than others, but over time, it gets easier to turn the other cheek. Little by little, you’ll become a person who chooses grace over revenge. You’ll internalize that Jesus’ way is the better way.
Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts:
- When has forgiveness cost you the most?
- How do you need to stop keeping score with this week?
- What’s one practical step you can take today to trust God’s justice instead of your own?
