The Other Cheek

It's kind of sad ... okay, no, very sad ... the way we who call ourselves Christians have been working so hard to be indistinguishable from those who are not. In 1 Corinthians Paul took on a sin in the church that he said "is not tolerated even among pagans." (1 Cor 5:1). Well, we're doing better, I guess. We're indulging a lot of the evils tolerated by the pagans. So, for instance, statisticians tell us that divorce rates in the church are practically the same as out of the church. That is not quite true, but it is certainly higher numbers than there should be and, more importantly, more acceptable than it should be. The same with extramarital sex including adultery, premarital sex, and homosexual practices. Many, many young Christians are shacking up with their "significant other" as if it is normal and acceptable. It is not. But we've decided to import the world's sins -- "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these" (Gal 5:19-21) -- into our lives as Christians and call it good.

I wrote last week about how some good things have been dismissed because sinful abuse has made us reject them rather than embrace them as God intended. I came across this one the other day. Paul says that Christians should not sue Christians. Really, Paul? I mean, litigation sometimes appears to be our national pasttime. Don't sue Christians? Well, that's what he says. "When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?" (1 Cor 6:1). Now, he explains why. Why should we let unbelievers judge (1 Cor 6:1)? We're going to judge the world (1 Cor 6:2). We're going to judge angels (1 Cor 6:3). I'm not digging into this stuff; I'm just offering Paul's reasons. We are supposed to handle this stuff alone. Lawsuits between Christians should be an internal affair. (Note: We're talking about civil matters. A Christian who violates another Christian and breaks the law in doing so still needs to face the law. Marriage and divorce are not just civil matters; they also have roots in the law, so those have to be faced in courts. Those kinds of things are not in view. The other thing that is not in view is believer versus unbeliever. That is not addressed here. You can conclude what you see fit, but it isn't stated here.)

The prohibition of Christian suing Christian is quite clear and unambiguous. Of course, we still see it, don't we? Why? Well, it's like I said. We've imported the world's "normal" into the church and consider it a good thing. We will obey "this far and no farther." "We know better than God ever did. Studies have shown ..." and whatever other nonsense we might tell ourselves. But here's the real question, the bottom-line objection. "But ... what if the other Christian doesn't abide by the ruling?" You get that, right? The church has no legal recourse. It relies on the two parties to act with integrity. "If that's how our fellow believers rule on this, we will abide by it." Oh, you don't? Well, who's going to do anything about it? The prohibition of suing believers leaves no redress in the case of a fellow believer who simply refuses to abide by it. So ... that's it, right? That's sufficient reason to jettison the idea.

Paul actually anticipated this response. "Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?" (1 Cor 6:7). Oh, now, that's just crazy! I mean, just be wronged? Just ... what ... turn the other cheek? Oh, wait. We've heard that before. Our relationship with Christ, you see, changes things. Radically. Where everyone else operates on "me" because "I am my only reliable source of all that is good," we operate on an entirely different basis. "My God shall supply your needs." (Php 4:19). No, not every wish or want or desire. We take it on faith that He supplies every need. We don't earn it. We don't work for it. We don't merit it. He is, however, our source. So we can be wronged and suffer no real harm because God is our Provider, our Savior, our Justice. We can take that loss and keep going because we aren't counting on us or others; we're counting on Him.

Now, think about that. Do you believe that? Do you believe that you're the one doing it, or do you believe that He is? If He is, how would that change your perspective? If God was supplying your needs, what would that say, for instance, about your marriage? In the normal scenario, you're in a 50-50 marriage where he supplies her need for love while she supplies his need for love. In the biblical scenario, it is God supplying the need for love. In this scenario a spouse can offer self fully without need for return because the return supply comes from God. In this scenario Christ is our power, our food, our energy, our everything. Oh, you've been wronged? No big deal! He will supply! "Turn the other cheek" becomes not only expected, but most reasonable. "Love your neighbor" makes sense. "Consider others as more important than yourself" is sensible.

But, no, most of us aren't too interested. We won't be wronged. We won't take the loss. (Taking the loss is what defines forgiveness.) Perhaps God is not reliable enough. Perhaps God is not enough. Perhaps we lack the faith. Perhaps we never thought about it. Perhaps we ought to. Given what He paid to secure our salvation, it would seem only prudent to seek to please Him to our utmost ability, if only out of sheer gratitude. "No, I won't" probably won't go far toward that end.