What “Turning The Other Cheek” Means: You Are The Better Person

Because Holy Week is fast approaching, here's something to think about.

Fact: People who are hurt (emotionally, mentally, psychosomatically), hurt other people.

This is generally the case but of course some people also don't even realize they are hurting others because of the pain they keep inside.

What does this mean then? If people who are hurt are hurting other people unintentionally (or not) then what can we do about it? That’s where what Jesus said, “Turn the other cheek,” comes in (Matthew 5:39, Luke 6:29).

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If you turn the other cheek when people hurt you and say good or helpful things to them instead then you are the better person. Of course don’t take this too literally. Don't let other people abuse you or your kindness.

Think of it this way:

Your friend just got dumped by his/her bf/gf and is now heartbroken and devastated and angry and all that. Extremely speaking, your friend then wants to kill the ex. You stop your friend. Your friend punches you and slaps you and hurts you physically but you take it and dodge some. Why? Because that person is your friend.

You care for him/her and you love him/her, thus “turn the other cheek” applied when he/she intentionally hurt you. Why? Because you know that your friend is hurting inside and needs to let the pain out and have someone be there for them to make them feel appreciated or loved.

Many life situations can be hurtful to us, it does not always mean we should hurt those people back immediately. Sometimes we need to understand where they are coming from before we respond back positively.

For well-mannered and good people, being hurt (like slapped or cursed at) would shock them; the pain would come afterwards. Retaliation is not immediate because it is not in their nature to hurt other people. Better people would rather take it as a learning experience and not retaliate, instead they may pray or bless the person to turn the bad situation into something good for themselves and the other person. Here’s why:

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It’s normal for other people to try and drag you down or even curse you when you’re feeling good and they aren’t. It’s normal for some people to criticize you for everything you do and not give you any praise when they are hurting because they didn’t get whatever good thing you got. They might have gotten that habit from their parents or other adults as a child. Probably they are exposed to that kind of community everyday and they are none the wiser. That’s life, you either deal with it or just live with it, but it’s better to learn from it when you realize it and make yourself better.

You can’t always blame other people for feeling sad or thinking low of themselves. What’s better is to realize that the hurtful things they do to you is not entirely because of you (or whatever good thing is happening to you), it is a reflection of how they are as a person.

Just as the devil or Satan will try and make the bad things seem right even if it isn’t (so more people will join him in hell), so it is with people who love to wallow in misery. If “misery loves company,” then so does negativity. It’s like sour graping too.

Sadly, we can’t always turn the other cheek whenever someone hurts us. We’re so used to doing the reverse of the Golden Rule that turning the other cheek seems absurd and stupid. And you can’t always ignore hurtful people. When it's too much, or before it even gets too much, you have to find a way to stop the abuse; which is a topic for another day.

Sometime somewhere, you will meet the same kind of people, so if you still don’t get why it’s better to turn the other cheek then perhaps today is not the day for it. Happy Sunday!

Have something to add? Let's talk about it!

XOXO,