The movie "42" and "turning the other cheek."

I recently saw the movie “42” about baseball legend Jackie Robinson.  This movie especially impacted me as my grandfather was major league pitcher Robert “Lefty” Bob Logan who played for the Cincinnati Reds as well as the Chicago Cubs.  Although Jackie Robinson’s career began after my grandfather had already retired—Jackie Robinson was always one of Grandpa Logan’s favorite players.  Both my Grandfather Bob and Grandmother Evelyn Logan were two of the biggest influences on my faith in Christ.  One thing that impacted me in that movie was the concept of turning the other cheek.  In the movie, Jackie was told by the Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey that Branch was looking for a man “with guts enough not to fight back”.  The film accurately depicted Branch Rickey’s commitment to following Christ.  The General Manager of the Dodgers sincerely felt like it was God’s will that he help integrate baseball and subsequently impact the moral fiber of the nation.  One thing not addressed in the movie, however, was Jackie Robinson’s similar deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ.  Throughout the movie Robinson resisted the temptation to defend himself or fight back.  Because of how Jackie Robinson continued to react in a “Christ like” way—his courage and discipline completely changed major league baseball (and impacted the society’s view on racism as well).    
    One of the hardest things to learn in following Jesus, are the concepts of  “dying to self” and “loving your enemies”.  One thing that I feel God has been teaching me lately is the importance of “dying to self”.  The dead have no rights and find no need to defend themselves.  When I started coming to the realization of what it really meant to die to self, it became easier (although still not easy) to be kind to those who were being unkind to me.  Jesus is glorified when we begin to live in that reality though because it is so contrary to the way that we are wired.  It is a natural human reaction when someone personally attacks us (whether emotionally or physically) to fight back.  Now I am not in ANY way advocating anyone to stay in a physically abusive relationship.  What I am saying however is that when we react with kindness to those who are being vicious to us —that is when people will see Christ being active in our lives.  For those of us who have had to process through the pain and rejection of divorce this can be a hard road to travel.  I recently spoke to a church friend about her mistreatment at the hands of her ex-husband.  She is a Christian and was struggling with how to react towards her ex.  Her ex husband had been very cruel, manipulative and accusing when dealing with her.  He had slandered her to both family friends as well as to their children.  It was her natural tendency to go on the attack whenever she had to interact with him.  She would feel the desire to lash out, retaliate, threaten, and defend herself against his verbal attacks and accusations.  My counsel to her was simply to “be kind” in any and all interactions with him.  If he got verbally abusive on the phone, I told her she should end the call.  But I encouraged her that under no circumstances should she allow herself to get baited into responding on his level.  Did her ex husband deserve her kindness?  Absolutely not!  This guy was being a complete jerk.  But in showing kindness instead of venom she was taking the moral high ground and honoring God.  Now this does not mean we have no boundaries when dealing with abusive people.  What it does mean is we have decided to react in ways that glorify God and show kindness to those who are undeserving (realizing that we all are undeserving of God’s kindness and mercy). When we decide to follow Christ, we give up our rights to retaliate in order to defend our own dignity.  When we defend our honor by retaliating against those who hurl insults our way—we minimize the reality of Christ in our lives.  Black athletes during the civil rights era understood this concept.  People like Jackie Robinson knew that if they retaliated it would simply give justification to their attackers that they were correct in their false assumptions.  Instead, like Jesus, Jackie showed through his gentle dignity that his confidence and esteem came from the Lord.  He had no need to defend himself as God was his defender.  Through his actions and the actions of other great men and women of that era, racial barriers began to erode and both Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickie began to see the beginnings of racial reconciliation and healing in the nation.  I pray that God will continue to allow me to learn how to “turn the other cheek” in the midst of conflict so that I can become more like the one I serve.

Matthew 5:38-48, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.  And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.  You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Walking in forgiveness

While attending a “Divorce care” class led by my friend Bill Soot’s last week, a question was asked that intrigued me. The subject of the class that week was forgiveness. In the video we were watching—the question asked was “what if I’m not mean or hateful to my ex-husband/wife, but I simply just ignore them? Is that wrong?” The answer given was “not if that’s how you would like God to respond to you.” Of course nobody wants God to ignore THEM. We might mistakenly “feel” like God is ignoring us—but in reality he NEVER does. This is an especially important thing to consider for those of us who have been wounded by the pain and rejection of divorce. The concept of how to respond to those who have hurt us brings up an interesting point. Although there do have to be boundaries, how does the Bible say that God wants us to respond? In Ephesians 4:32 it says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Another verse that came to my mind is Matthew 5:21 where it says, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” My favorite verse pertaining to this subject is probably Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Sometimes it’s really hard to live in peace with people, especially when we have been hurt. Holding grudges or unforgiveness is not an option for those of us who claim to be Christ followers. Now this doesn’t mean that we have to make ourselves readily accessible to those people who have hurt us in the past. It does however mean that we need to be kind in all situations and treat others like we would like to be treated (regardless of how difficult they are to deal with). This applies whether we are dealing with a rude boss (or employee), an estranged family member or even while dealing with your spouse while in a divorce proceeding in court. One of the many things that defined Jesus public ministry was his revolutionary teaching of loving our enemies and being kind to those who hate us. While we just finished celebrating Jesus’s death and resurrection this past Easter weekend—It is important not to forget that "forgiveness" was one of the central focuses of his teachings. Jesus walked out those teachings while he hung on that cross surrounded by both the leering, mocking crowds that had called for his death as well as the soldiers that nailed him to that cross of wood. Despite those facts, Jesus still said “Father, forgive them for they don’t understand what they’ve done”. If our heart is to follow Jesus, we need to walk out forgiveness in our lives as well.

Matthew 5:43, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”