An Interesting Walk

It has very nearly been one full week since I left home to come to Grand Rapids. Classes will begin this coming Tuesday, but in the meantime, I have taken a good amount of time to get settled in and familiarize myself with the city and surrounding areas. My good friend, Ben (right), came for a visit since he was in the area and we had fun walking around downtown and taking pictures. We actually had an interesting experience with a guy who saw me taking some pictures. We weren't sure what to think about him at the time...well, now that I think about it, I still don't quite know what to think about him... 

His name was Mike, and unfortunately I didn't ask to take his picture, though I thought about it. He stopped to ask about the camera, so I very carefully let him see some of the pictures I had taken. He then went on to talk to Ben and I for well over an hour about all sorts of stuff. I guess he was trying to witness to us, but some of the things he said struck us as odd and somewhat suspicious. Anyway, he did bring up some interesting points about turning the other cheek (do you see where this got a little weird?). He said something to the effect of, "If I were to come up to you and say, 'Hey, that is a nice camera. Give me that camera.' Would you turn the other cheek and let me have it?" Even though it was a sort of weird conversation, it got me thinking about why I wouldn't just give my camera away. The most obvious reasoning is that I need it for school. But is that "Christian" reasoning?

What should a Christian do when they are attacked or robbed? Is it right for us to yield to violence? Jesus did indeed say, "...if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Mat. 5:39b). Interestingly enough, I was actually able to turn to a Wikipedia article for some insight. The gist of the interpretation is that if the person being slapped were to turn the other cheek then the person doing the slapping would have to slap the person in such a way that was a challenge to an equal. In other words, "It's on like Donkey Kong!" Okay, maybe not that far, but you get the idea. The verse wasn't meant to tell Christians to simply bow down for physical abuse.

Okay, what about the verse that says, "Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back" (Luke 6:30). That one seems a little harder to get away from. What I gather from various commentaries is that this verse refers to borrowed goods. Someone asking to borrow my camera and someone demanding that I give it to them are two very different things. The first interpretation has Jesus giving advice for how to deal with everyday dealings with other people. The second interpretation – the one saying we should just give to the people who take from us – has Jesus advising we simply go along with criminal activities. It just doesn't make sense for Jesus to tell people to allow criminals to get away with crimes, and I really don't think we should. But there does seem to be another side to all of this. 

Didn't Jesus allow Judas to steal from the money bag (John 12:6)? Didn't Jesus let people beat Him and ridicule Him on His way to the cross? Isn't that an aspect of Christianity that we are meant to imitate? I think this is beautifully illustrated in the movie "Les Misérables".

That scene has always challenged me. It is very right and very good to do what the priest did, but can I do the same? I just pray for wisdom that if the situation arises, God would show me clearly what I am to do. People are always more important than things, but giving someone my camera so they can go buy drugs does not seem like the most loving thing I could do for that person. 

I would love to hear any thoughts you have on the subject, so feel free to post a comment.