Have you ever been slapped so hard that you can literarily hear the alarm bells ringing through your medulla; your eyes turned red, the side of the ears was blocked and your cheeks were contracting and literarily turning numb? Guess what our Lord Jesus Christ told us to do in this situation? I am sure you all know the answer; well, if you don’t know, he told us to turn the other cheek. Jesus Christ definitely has a sense of humor.
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Rewind to high school days in Federal Government College, Ijanikin; I was referred to as a “bad boyâ€; I jumped fence to parties, sell stolen forex or gold jewelries for guys that stole from their parents, miss 80% of the classes, visited Okoko for unusual activities, sort junior students, stand up against senior students but there was one thing that stood tall amongst these activities; I can never allow someone (especially a fellow student) to slap me and get away with it – it’s definitely not possible.
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So during my undergraduate days in Ife when I accepted Jesus as my lord and personal savior; this Jesus statement of “turning the other cheek†never made sense to me until now. So you can imagine that for 12 years I have walked with Christ, I never believed in the practical application of this statement. From my high school experience, I have witnessed firsthand the consequences of the responses from being slapped except the “turning the other cheek†because nobody has ever done it.
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There are three responses to being slapped; the first one reminded me of this Kenny Roger’s “coward of the countyâ€song; you simply walk away when you are being slapped. Most people believe this is quite an honorable thing to do but Jesus never asked us to walk away. What you have simply done is to give more power to the person that slapped you; there is a 100% chance that he would slap you again and not feel bad about it. In this scenario, the oppressed and the oppressor are both to blame. Just like Kenny Roger’s song, you would eventually have to fight one day.
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The second response does not appear honorable but it is definitely better than the first. When someone slaps you, you slap the person back. The worst thing that would happen is that you would end up in a physical fight and he would win you. If you do not show fear after he wins, he would never slap you again because he knows that you would always stand up to him. A fighter even if he is a loser would always be respected than a perceived coward.
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 See those birds above giving thanks to God after undergoing a terrible weather. The final response is like that; this response does not instill fear like the second response but it commands respect and influences the oppressor. Let me use this story to illustrate my point: The widow of Zarephath was cooking her last meal and waiting to die before Elijah appeared asking her to give him the last meal. The economic situation was dire and not the fault of the widow; that was a huge slap but she did not respond by slapping back or walking away; she took the high unusual way by giving her last meal to a stranger she hardly knew.
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This is an apparent difficult route that this woman took but this was what Jesus was talking about; turning the other cheek simply means viewing the same thing from a different perspective. If your job was taken from you, it’s now time to start giving out jobs; if the business deal brought you a lot of loss and did not work out the way you planned it, it’s time to plan it in a different way; if things are tight for you, it’s time to tithe more; if your boss is giving you stress, it’s time to praise the Lord for placing him there; if your wife is nagging you, just show her more love.
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The night period of your life reveals your strength. People are not going to be influenced by you because you are going through things, people are going to respect you based on how you react to the tragedies of your life. Mandela is one of the most respected men in the world because despite being jailed unjustly, he had no resentment or anger towards his oppressors instead he went further to vie for the presidency of the country and won it.
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This is the difference between walking away and turning the other cheek; you do not only accept the slap but you show the person that slapped you a better way to go about it. When life gives you a slap, it’s time to turn the other cheek because that is where your breakthrough lies. All breakthrough stems from sowing during difficult times because this is when all your faculties (body, mind, heart, spirit) are aligned to ensure a targeted harvest. Â
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When the adversities if life hit you, it’s time to give more to life; you cannot do anything about the birds that fly over your head or the sun coming down but you can sure do something about the response. The widow of Zaraphath thought that was her last meal before she died just like most of you believe that if that job goes, you would be finished or if you walk out of that abusive relationship, you would no longer have a crutch to hold on to. Kindly turn the other cheek like the widow did and you would be shocked at what the Lord would do.
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You may listen to Kenny Roger’s song “Coward of the County†below (just play and allow it to load/buffer for 30 secs)  and have a lovely end of week.
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11 comments
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April 28, 2009 at 11:52 am (UTC 1)
….YEAH! I really must commend the cartoon /Picture displays. You have right pictures that fits perfectly into your write-ups… Before i read, i look at the graphic representations first then proceed…..It gives an imagined frame of what u’ld discuss…
A blogger with a difference!
Would have loved to meet yah!
April 28, 2009 at 11:44 am (UTC 1)
….i can bet this is one of the phrases of the bible that ‘xtians’ desist talking about even when they do, they breeze over it without understanding believing its just about physical engagement of the hands….
It is better said; but , living the content requires lots of grace. Turning the other cheek goes beyond a 180 degrees neck-face movement; doing it with a concrete spirit-lead understanding as Dipo’s is what brings eternal result….If not you’ll get a series of geometrically increasing slaps on every turn…
Thanks bro!
@tunde
Its not only about accepting, there’s a part to believing and living; there are things in the bible that i know exists but pray for understanding so i can live….
Nice one!
April 24, 2009 at 10:32 am (UTC 1)
@ biddy
real lemonade!na wetn i need now …
@ all
a word for the season,i must confess its night season,i cant wat for morning to come.sometimes when you walk away after being slapped its not just a way of running from the situation but it clould just that there’s no enough reason to slap back so you just walk away.whether you slap back or wal;k away,you lose.until you find a strong enough reason to renew your strength during the night season things will never change.this night time for me will surely pass but until then i’m renewing my strength.i’m re-evaluating,picking up the pieces and trusting God to work things out HIS way.
now i’m seeing things from another perspective.winners dont do dfferent things,they do things differently.
April 24, 2009 at 8:03 am (UTC 1)
Thank you Dipo.
The Lord continually grant you deeper insight into His wisdom deposited in you through Christ our Lord.
Have a great weekend.
Thank you once again for allowing yourself to be used of God to bless His people at this time (world’s economy recession; time set by God to transfer all riches in the possession of the Gentiles to His beloved people)
April 24, 2009 at 6:49 am (UTC 1)
Nice one Dipo. It really ministered to me in more ways than I could imagine. Thanks for sharing and keep the fire of love burning.
April 24, 2009 at 2:46 am (UTC 1)
Great piece my blogging mentor! its said when life serves you lemon, you turn it to a lemonade!..To many, what you have said here may not always be the popular way but its the best way that will yield the best result eventually! God bless you always!
April 23, 2009 at 5:00 pm (UTC 1)
Tanks, this article have lifted my spirit!
April 23, 2009 at 4:19 pm (UTC 1)
wonderful read…
Thanks for the message.
April 23, 2009 at 1:31 pm (UTC 1)
Good one, There are so much to learn from turning the other cheek which Jesus preached about. I like the way you explained it from the widow of Zerephath. In all, i am happy i could read your blogs now. The future is brighter
April 23, 2009 at 1:13 pm (UTC 1)
sir, this is a word in season. i have been ministered to.
April 23, 2009 at 12:16 pm (UTC 1)
The widow believed the man of God. And she and her house eat many days without going out to buy food. This was before Jesus was born. It took you over 12years to accept Jesus teachings.Praise the Lord. I hope it stays that way for you.