I Want to Fight Back!
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5
He’d been defenseless against the school bully and hadn’t stood a chance. As Tim, in frustration and shame, finally got to his feet, the crowd was dispersing. They jeered him and branded him a coward. They couldn’t believe he had allowed the other boy to pound him mercilessly without retaliating.
Tim had learned earlier than most that he would experience pain in his life. He had also learned to rise above a sense of helplessness. He knew from experience that fighting would never solve his problems. But this time he had wanted to lash out at his adversary. He felt like the coward they kept calling him.
As he brushed himself off, the crowd walked away. He noticed one girl still standing nearby.
She stepped closer. “Are you okay?” she asked. Then, looking toward the bully, she added, “He’s such a jerk.” Not getting a response from Tim, she offered, “I know you’re not a coward. So why didn’t you fight back?”
“Because fighting for the wrong reason never solves the problem,” came his answer.
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We are born with an instinct for survival. Allowing something or someone to threaten or harm us is beyond human logic. But when Jesus was beaten, he didn’t offer resistance. Why choose to be beaten to the point of death when you have the power to resist or stop it altogether?
We sometimes confuse meekness with cowardice and fail to understand that it’s our right to refuse to inflict harm on another. Christ submitted because to do otherwise would thwart his ultimate purpose. Meekness does not say, “I will not fight.” It says, “I refuse to respond in kind.”
When we let God deal with our adversary, we choose to yield to His wisdom rather than to react out of emotion. “What will they think of me?”
Would you beat mercilessly on one of your children because he struck you in the anger of his youth? Neither should we beat unmercifully on those who strike out in ignorance or pain.
Prayer
“Lord, I struggle with confrontation. Help me lay down my rights if it is what You desire. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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