Please read "I am Anthony" before reading this.
Question: At what point does the responsibility to stand up for yourself get transferred to those around you?
and does this post have anything at all to do with Jesus' words regarding turning the other cheek?
Answer: I think it is always an individual's responsibility to stand up for those who are being being bullied.
I do think this has something to do with Jesus's words, "Turn the other cheek." I'm not sure what Jesus would say about the idea of "standing up for yourself." The New Testament definitely teaches the idea of not returning evil for evil.
Can anyone think of any Scripture regarding the idea of standing up for yourself? Perhaps an example of someone who did and did it right? I'd like to hear some thoughts on this matter. I'll be fairly busy this week, so I think we should get a robust discussion going on this one.
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5 comments:
I think that one of the first thingswe would have to do here is define "standing up for yourself".
Now my definition would be defending yourself which Jesus did and did quite well ( just ask the pharisees or Satan ). However, some people would say that it is fighting back. In my opinion, defending yourself is supported throughout the Bible, but fighting back ( trying to do harm to the person who has tried to do the same to you ) is not.
If those definitions work for you, than I think the scripture will be pretty easy to find.
Pete
P.S. On a side note, I might not make your presentation tomorrow night due to an exam I have. There is a chance I'll get it done during the day but odds aren't great.
I think the people in Survivor are showing great examples of passive and aggressive behavior.
Passive people don't tend to stand up for themselves. They let others hurt them.
Aggressive people stand up for themselves at the expense of others. They don't worry about respecting others.
Jesus was assertive. He took care of his own needs, he didn't let other people push him around. But, he also respected others and when confronted treated them with respect while still maintaining his own self respect.
Mathew 12, shows 4 examples of the pharisees confroning Jesus, in each he diffused the situation without violence, but also without just hanging his head and walking away.
Mark 1, shows Jesus taking care of himself. He had healed people all day. The next morning he snuck out and went by himself to pray.
In the old testiment, you have the story of Queen Esther who stood up for the rights of herself and her people.
So, what did Jesus mean when he said turn the other cheek?
Did he turn the other cheek in John 18:23 when the guard slapped him?
I have some thoughts, but am curious about your opinion.
i've also wondered about what jesus meant by turning the other cheek.
before he talks about turning the other cheek and going two miles and giving the cloak and the tunic, he says "you have heard it said 'eye for an eye...'...". so here's my answer: jesus wasn't talking at all about letting people walk all over you, he was talking about not returning evil for evil, and even taking the whole notion a step further by returning good for evil. hence the phrase directly preceding the whole turn the other cheek: "do not resist an evil person". so yeah, it seems that jesus point was returning good when someone wrongs you and had nothing to do with letting people beat you up or trample you; he was turning the current system completely upside-down.
I think all of you have said some excellent things about this issue.
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