“The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed or lay my hand on him; for He is the anointed of the Lord.” 1 Samuel 24

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:6,8,9

“And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” Matthew 5:40,41

Wow, this one’s tough. In the world today, this flies in the face of almost all conventional wisdom and experience of the worldly successful and winning. I don’t take things lying down. If you come at me, I’ll come back at you with as much if not greater strength than your attack. Disagree openly against me or seemingly demean me in some way and I must destroy you. Strength is the way of the world. Strength is the way of winning. After all, aren’t I using my God given strength in the first place? Why would He give me any power if I’m not intended to use it against my enemies or even potential enemies (who at one point might have even been friends)?

Okay, I know Jesus taught and even lived turn the other cheek. But hey, let’s face it, that was God’s cheek that was getting turned. It was easy for Him. He can’t expect it from a mere human can He?

Let’s look at an example.

David, King David. He’s looked at as one of the heroes and pillars in the bible. Even in the world David is the symbol of the underdog winning. David triumphing over Goliath is used as an allegory of the triumph of good over evil, the pure over the corrupt, the small over the large.

King David wouldn’t be one to suffer a slight. King David would most certainly quash any detractor or threat against him just like he did Goliath. Well, not so fast with those assumptions.

First a little backstory. David was not your typical Hollywood casting choice to be king of Israel. David was not the tallest, most handsome, most intelligent of his family. When God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint a new and future King of Israel, Samuel chose every son of Jesse’s family except David. David was the youngest. David was also the runt. What Samuel dismissed because he couldn’t see; God treasured because He could see. David’s heart was aligned with and humble to God.

David was anointed to be future king. Future King because Israel already had a King named Saul who rejected God and was thus rejected by God. Yet David enters the service of King Saul; and David flourishes. David not only kills the giant warrior Goliath but goes on to route the enemy Philistines. In fact David’s exploits are so amazing, his fame is greater than King Saul’s. It is important to note that David is not claiming his own glory, it is the people who are singing his praise.

King Saul get’s jealous of David. Not just a little irritated, but vein popping, red faced, eye bulging enraged type of jealous at David. King Saul comes to the conclusion that David must die and tries on multiple occasions to bring this to pass. Saul sends his army out to track down David and kill him and David is forced to flee with a very small band of loyal compatriots.

Now we come to it. You see, David had been punched at. David had endured multiple attempts against his life as well as baseless, ugly accusations about his treasonous ambitions. So, David and his band is hiding in a cave. King Saul is in fruitless, frustrated pursuit. On this day, Saul needs to relieve himself and, there not being public bathrooms spread around the wilderness in those days, he leaves his men to go to a cave for some privacy. Yes, you guessed it, the same cave where David was hiding. What an opportunity! What a fortuitous gift of circumstances for David to strike back to even the slate, to show his strength. David’s men call on David to strike and kill the king.

What does David do? He doesn’t follow His men. He doesn’t do what the world would have had him do. No; David follows his heart that is aligned with God’s. David feels there is no justification for him to strike down God’s, then anointed King, just because David has issues with him. By getting close enough to Saul, David is able to cut off a part of Saul’s clothing and then prove to Saul that David was no threat to Saul. He declares to Saul that he could have killed Saul but instead spared his life. For a short time Saul relents on killing David, but alas Saul’s jealously returns and he tries again and David spares Saul again.

Fast forward a few thousand years. We have a lot of issues, disagreements, conflicts with each other. These differences are sometimes as large as between countries, but they are also, very frequently, within countries, communities, even families and churches. Not that humans have not always had disagreements but the vehemence at which we pursue those disagreements seems ever increasing. We have “stand your ground” laws, we have narratives that reward the person who retaliates and castigates the person who disengages or tries to mitigate a conflict or difference.

It would be hard, in today’s world, to see David praised for his restraint. Conversely, it would be much easier to see David rebuked for his weakness, most likely having most of his followers abandon him unless or until he was ready to show “strength”. That is the world’s way.

Is there any reward for David’s restraint. Well, Saul is not successful and David lives. Additionally, Saul ends up taking his own life during a failed battle which God told Saul not to wage. David ends up, then becoming King David. Also, David is not ruthlessly attacked by any of Saul’s followers or distant relatives because they had no reason to. Following, most certainly not perfectly, but attempting to follow God’s presence in his heart, David goes on to be one of the most revered persons in the bible.

Jesus also turned the other cheek, over and over again. What is His reward? Where is Jesus now? Jesus is the Christ. Jesus stands at the very Right Hand of God the Father and is the only One. Jesus Christ is there, not just because He is the Son of God, but because He is the Lamb, worthy by His obedience to God to stand next to Him.

One thing Dear Sisters and Brothers, we can’t do this on our own. We don’t have the righteous strength of character to resist the worldly temptation to strike back and seek revenge for perceived or real slights or attacks on our own. When those attacks come, and they will come; we must turn to Jesus Christ for help. We must pray for the strength of Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit to be in our heart and guide us to a path of peacemaker and forgiver. We must pray for the strength to resist and overcome the worldly criticism and even condemnation for our actions of meekness as weakness.

Finally, God is not weak. Our Heavenly Father does not suffer evil and evil doers to thrive and succeed. God may even use us as an instrument in His triumph over evil. Whether we will be used in God’s plan to thwart evil or not; we will be blessed for looking to Him before we act to know if our actions are justified. Jesus promises that. How do we know if we’re acting like David being an instrument of God versus Goliath? Through the Holy Spirit we will know in our heart if our actions are based on God’s glory or for our own.

Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we are surrounded with messages of striking back, getting even, getting revenge. We have reverted to an eye for an eye mentality. We are thankful that, through Your Son Jesus Christ, You have taught us a better way. Forgive us. most Merciful Father, when we lash out at our attackers or detractors wishing to see our glory raised and praised. Pour out Your Strength on us that we might be aligned in You allowing us to become peacemakers whose pure heart and meekness will be bring healing and peace to this world and glory to Your Most Holy Name. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen