Being a Bigger Person
“But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too." -Matthew 5:39,40
More than we'd like we are faced with situations where someone may have taken advantage of us. These types of situations can happen between friends, relatives, associates, or strangers. When we get the short end of the stick, the bad end of the bargain, or we are mistreated, it is easy to want to retaliate. But this isn't the way Jesus wanted us to respond. He wanted us to, "be the bigger person."
It's amazing to me how these types of situations happen with people you think should know better. But, these are the very situations we can get caught up in if we aren't careful. The way to avoid getting tangled is to be the bigger person and turn the other cheek. Suppose someone said they were going to give you a car, and turned around and gave it to someone else. That would probably make you pretty upset, right? But, according to this verse the 'big' thing to do is to do something nice for them, just because. "What?!" You might say. "That person just ripped them off!"
But, think about what it means to be the bigger person. If an injustice was done to me, it's not about me - its about the other person. The Bible says that when we bless someone who curses us we 'heap burning coals upon their head', meaning, there's no way to escape conviction. (Proverbs 25:21&22)
Is there any situation you are facing now where you may need to be the bigger person? Why not bless the person, and give it to God. Life is too short to hang onto things that steal our joy. Be the bigger person and let it go.
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