To defend oneself or not

Yesterday I was faced with one of the major tenants of my faith.  As a Mennonite, we believe in nonresistance in all forms.  This comes from the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said:

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

-Matthew 5:38-42, NIV

The challenge is that people some times will see this as a sign of weakness and take advantage of your unwillingness to “stand up for yourself” in the face of adversity.  I was faced with being challenged on basically everything that I do for my local congregation.  Challenged about the purity of my motives.  As I sat there and watched a member of my church family speak of me in derogatory terms, I held fast to the words above.  While inwardly parts of me wanted to yell and scream, those pieces were drowned out by my feeling of christian love and concern for the person making the accusations.  Concern over where they were in their walk with Christ and how God might be challenging them in their personal walk.

The biggest thing that has come to mind as I have walked away from that experience and others like it, is that the ability to not resist, to allow someone to strike you on the other cheek, is actually a sign of strength and not weakness.  The ability to see the situation through another set of eyes and see what God can do.

It’s ironic, as I sit here 24 hours later, I don’t feel upset at the other person, and yet I don’t feel compassionate either.  Frankly, I don’t feel anything different than I normally do.  I have always been told that I “forgive and forget” too easily, but isn’t that what Matthew 5:38-42 is telling us to do?  Maybe not forget, but go with them the extra mile.

My guess is that the person who lashed out is going through a spiritual journey that might not be all that pleasant and that God is just telling me that I need to come alongside them and walk the road with them.