Love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

[anotherlife]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

Does that encourage your enemies?

This seems to go against survival.

What is the relationship between survival and the above?

Does this mean that we don't aim to survive on planet Earth?

And what does this mean for the victorious enemy?

And why did Jesus ask to pick up the sword? A contradiction?

 

[skye]

In these day and age.....I much prefer the other verse, it makes more sense to me.

"Live by the sword, die by the sword"

That's all I can say about the matter at the moment.

 

[The Irish Ram]

To turn the other cheek doesn't mean what you think up there, life. It is actually an act of indignation. Here is how it worked:
In a court of law it was an acceptable punishment to slap the face of the guilty party. It had to be carried out in a specific manner. You faced the guilty party, and using the back of your right hand, you slap the right cheek of the offender.
As the offender, if you feel you have been punished unjustly, then after your right cheek has been struck, turn the other cheek to them in an act of defiance. Because, you can't effectively slap a person standing in front of you with the back of your right hand on their left cheek. You'd have to turn your hand upside down and jam it into the other's cheek.

But we are called to love our enemies because they are family members. It would be more compassionate of us to want the Holy Spirit to convict him and salvage an enemy then to wish for his eternal demise. After all Christ hung on the cross and took the punishment for that person just to make him eligible to enter Heaven in case he wanted to accept the gift. Pray that he does and becomes a new person in Christ, if it is God's will. It may not be, but you have fulfilled your duty to treat the enemy the way Christ would. Leave the vengeance to God. Keep a soft heart.
That is a very, very hard thing to do in these times.

 

[Bonzi]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

Does that encourage your enemies?

This seems to go against survival.

What is the relationship between survival and the above?

Does this mean that we don't aim to survive on planet Earth?

And what does this mean for the victorious enemy?

And why did Jesus ask to pick up the sword? A contradiction?

It means some things are worth fighting for (defending your faith) and some are not (seeking revenge for selfish reasons)

 

[Moonglow]

To turn the other cheek doesn't mean what you think up there, life. It is actually an act of indignation. Here is how it worked:
In a court of law it was an acceptable punishment to slap the face of the guilty party. It had to be carried out in a specific manner. You faced the guilty party, and using the back of your right hand, you slap the right cheek of the offender.
As the offender, if you feel you have been punished unjustly, then after your right cheek has been struck, turn the other cheek to them in an act of defiance. Because, you can't effectively slap a person standing in front of you with the back of your right hand on their left cheek. You'd have to turn your hand upside down and jam it into the other's cheek.

But we are called to love our enemies because they are family members. It would be more compassionate of us to want the Holy Spirit to convict him and salvage an enemy then to wish for his eternal demise. After all Christ hung on the cross and took the punishment for that person just to make him eligible to enter Heaven in case he wanted to accept the gift. Pray that he does and becomes a new person in Christ, if it is God's will. It may not be, but you have fulfilled your duty to treat the enemy the way Christ would. Leave the vengeance to God. Keep a soft heart.
That is a very, very hard thing to do in these times.

It's is hard to do in any time of history for most humans..

 

[hobelim]

In these day and age.....I much prefer the other verse, it makes more sense to me.

"Live by the sword, die by the sword"

That's all I can say about the matter at the moment.

" The sword" , is a reference to a curse under the appearance of a cup of wine..


"Take from my hand this cup of fiery wine and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they have drunk it they will vomit and go mad; such is the sword that I am sending among them..." Jeremiah 25:15


"He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword."

 

[Avatar4321]

One way the Lord taught us to love our enemies is to pray for them.

Do you pray for your enemies? Do you pray for Trump if you don't like him? Did you pray for Obama?

We can choose to obey this command easily.

 

[Vastator]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

Does that encourage your enemies?

This seems to go against survival.

What is the relationship between survival and the above?

Does this mean that we don't aim to survive on planet Earth?

And what does this mean for the victorious enemy?

And why did Jesus ask to pick up the sword? A contradiction?

It means some things are worth fighting for (defending your faith) and some are not (seeking revenge for selfish reasons)

Oops... you got that backwards...

 

[BreezeWood]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

how to defeat evil ...

 

[Vastator]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

how to defeat evil ...

A fools errand, as there is no evil; only perspective.

 

[Avatar4321]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

how to defeat evil ...

With good

 

[BreezeWood]

A fools errand, as there is no evil; only perspective.

With good

the accumulation of good till there is no evil ... physicality of one sort or another is required.

 

[Bonzi]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

Does that encourage your enemies?

This seems to go against survival.

What is the relationship between survival and the above?

Does this mean that we don't aim to survive on planet Earth?

And what does this mean for the victorious enemy?

And why did Jesus ask to pick up the sword? A contradiction?

It means some things are worth fighting for (defending your faith) and some are not (seeking revenge for selfish reasons)

Oops... you got that backwards...

How so?

 

[Vastator]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

Does that encourage your enemies?

This seems to go against survival.

What is the relationship between survival and the above?

Does this mean that we don't aim to survive on planet Earth?

And what does this mean for the victorious enemy?

And why did Jesus ask to pick up the sword? A contradiction?

It means some things are worth fighting for (defending your faith) and some are not (seeking revenge for selfish reasons)

Oops... you got that backwards...

How so?

Sounds like your saying that its worth fighting to defend your faith (something you beleive in)... If so; ones faith cannot be very strong if something as common as defeat, would make you stop believing. And revenge... Well that's easily one of the best, and most common things to fight for. Sounded like you had it backwards...

 

[anotherlife]

I think another problem with this is that your enemy will torment you more whilst you are praying for them. What do you all think of that.

 

[Bonzi]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

Does that encourage your enemies?

This seems to go against survival.

What is the relationship between survival and the above?

Does this mean that we don't aim to survive on planet Earth?

And what does this mean for the victorious enemy?

And why did Jesus ask to pick up the sword? A contradiction?

It means some things are worth fighting for (defending your faith) and some are not (seeking revenge for selfish reasons)

Oops... you got that backwards...

How so?

Sounds like your saying that its worth fighting to defend your faith (something you beleive in)... If so; ones faith cannot be very strong if something as common as defeat, would make you stop believing. And revenge... Well that's easily one of the best, and most common things to fight for. Sounded like you had it backwards...

No I mean fighting for your right to exercise your faith eg even in cases where it may cost you your life. Revenge is never fulfilling or satisfying ultimately

 

[BreezeWood]

No I mean fighting for your right to exercise your faith

no one has the right to exercise a faith, no one sane anyway. find the truth or stfu.

 

[Vastator]

What does it mean to love your enemies and turn the other cheek?

Does that encourage your enemies?

This seems to go against survival.

What is the relationship between survival and the above?

Does this mean that we don't aim to survive on planet Earth?

And what does this mean for the victorious enemy?

And why did Jesus ask to pick up the sword? A contradiction?

It means some things are worth fighting for (defending your faith) and some are not (seeking revenge for selfish reasons)

Oops... you got that backwards...

How so?

Sounds like your saying that its worth fighting to defend your faith (something you beleive in)... If so; ones faith cannot be very strong if something as common as defeat, would make you stop believing. And revenge... Well that's easily one of the best, and most common things to fight for. Sounded like you had it backwards...

Revenge is never fulfilling or satisfying ultimately

Spoken like a person who's never gotten theirs. Im of a differing opinion on both counts.

 

[mudwhistle]

In these day and age.....I much prefer the other verse, it makes more sense to me.

"Live by the sword, die by the sword"

That's all I can say about the matter at the moment.

Paybacks are a motherfucker....

 

[Votto]

I think another problem with this is that your enemy will torment you more whilst you are praying for them. What do you all think of that.

I can't remember the scripture, but the Bible says that the wrath of man never accomplishes the righteousness of God.

Looking at scripture it is evident that God is not a pacifist. If he were Christ would never have picked up a whip to run out the money changers, nor would the Zionist nation have been told to conquer the Holy Land.

The issue is what is your goal? You then apply tactics to achieve your goal. Scripture accurately notes that our enemy is not people, rather, it is the evil forces that control them. Therefore, focusing on unleashing all our wrath on them is losing track of the evil that may control them. Turning the other cheek helps send the message that you are not the real problem here. It gives pause to the mindless back and forth retribution we see in places like the Middle East and hopefully will get the other party to consider that they are wrong in thinking that you are the enemy they must vanquish.

Does it work? It's worked in my life in the past, but most times not. It sure beats never finding peace as both parties fight to the death.