We all know what Jesus says about doing turning the other cheek when faced with a battle. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:38-42
I can testify that I did this in my own battle — until I realized that I was enabling sinful behavior. I was not merely turning the other cheek, I was allowing evil to prosper with my lack of action and forgiveness. Have you ever been faced with that? Where you must do battle — even when you’re conflict-averse — because it is the only way to do what’s right?
God gave me a word to look up Winston Churchill. Now, I didn’t know a lot about Winston Churchill. I mean, I have heard it said that if we didn’t have him, we’d all be speaking German, but other than that? I know he was a prime minister, a painter and the rest I’ve gleaned off of “The Queen” on Amazon Prime. But I had a word that being Neville Chamberlain will prolong the war. Being Winston Churchill will end it.
We always think the peacemaker is the innocent one. The good one. But Neville Chamberlain wanted to appease Adolf Hitler! That was never going to end well because Hitler wanted the total destruction of anyone who veered from his crazed, sociopathic view of a “perfect world.” Neville wasn’t equipped to deal with evil.
By nature, I’m a healer — an INFP on the Myers-Briggs. I want everyone to come together and live in total harmony. But God called me to do battle in this circumstance and it hasn’t been pretty. I wanted to live in harmony, but not at the expense of someone’s soul. And I believe that allowing someone to continue in the destruction of others and evil is at the expense of their soul. So yes, we should forgive. We should turn the other cheek, but when God calls us in love to do battle, we must rise up rather than allow evil to prosper.
Have you ever kept a “false peace” to avoid battle? Have you ever had to rise up and do the right thing though it would cost you? Sometimes, we get pulled into a battle we want no part in — like Beth Moore being pulled into John MacArthur’s statement yesterday. I imagine Beth Moore would have just like to have avoided the fray altogether and had a Starbucks yesterday. But she didn’t. She spoke out because it was necessary. That doesn’t mean she isn’t forgiving or looking for a fight. It means she couldn’t allow a falsehood to stand as “God’s word.”
Christians Read 
Kristin, our women’s group is studying the Boundaries book right now. There are tons of reasons to set boundaries to have a healthy life. Keeping those boundaries is vital to your whole life. Keep up the good fight. Hold those boundaries firmly. You are no troublemaker, and this is hard, but remain steadfast for you, for your family, and to keep the evil from overcoming.
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I need to reread “Boundaries.” It’s such a good book and I do need to hold firmly. Thanks for the encouragement.
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I too am a peacemaker and I don’t like conflict. So I understand how difficult situations like this can be. Hanging onto Jesus with all our might is key!
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It seems like God often calls us to the opposite of our nature. I suppose that causes growth, but it’s annoying.
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LOL! Yes I would much rather run the other way!
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Same here, Kristin. I have kept the false peace to avoid serious loss. It failed. When I finally accepted that it wasn’t going to ever work, I did the right thing. Suffered the loss anyway, but for the right reason. There’s solace in that. Acceptance is hard, but it is comforting to know that even when it was really hard, and the stakes really high, doing the right thing was the right thing to do. I don’t believe that it is meant to be easy. If it was, where’s the faith? And how exactly would we come to understand spiritual battles must be fought or forfeited by choosing not to fight?
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Peace isn’t necessarily the absence of conflict; it’s the wise handling of conflict. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Sometimes, certain soldiers are referred to as “peacekeepers”- that’s not by weakness, that’s by brute force. But our weapons aren’t carnal, and our battle isn’t against flesh and blood.
Anyway, I’m waffling, but that’s some of my thoughts. I share the same surname as Neville, but he was no ancestor of mine as far as I’m aware! 🙂
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My son is a Marine and I understand this completely. I”m a wimp by nature so it’s easy for me to have “false peace” and that’s why I think I’m called to be more realistic. : )
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Thank you, Kristin. I am a peacekeeper. But, I can look back and see many instances where that was harmful. I am trying to learn when to be a peacekeeper and when to stand up for truth and bring light to the wrong. A difficult thing to do. Thanks for the post.
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