The most difficult part of being a Christian is trying to be one of God\u2019s representatives on earth. That is no small task.\u00a0 God has given us rules for how to interact with others, and some of them are not easy to follow.\u00a0 But if every person who claims to be a Christian actually followed those rules, our world would be a very different place.<\/p>\n
The rule I think that most of us struggle with is to turn the other cheek. In Luke 6:27-30, Jesus told the disciples,<\/p>\n
\u201cBut to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.\u00a0 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strong words. Yet how would our world look if everyone followed those rules?<\/p>\n
It is a natural to want to retaliate against someone who wrongs us. Even my own motto always has been that if someone fires at me, I will fire back harder.\u00a0 But the older I get, the more I learn that that approach doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0 What I\u2019ve found is this: When I retaliate, I feel unsettled.\u00a0 My heart isn\u2019t at peace.\u00a0 Now, when I turn the other cheek, I may feel momentary discomfort.\u00a0 However, after feeling that subsides, I am at peace with myself.\u00a0 More importantly, when I turn the other cheek, I show God that I trust Him to be my vindicator.\u00a0 I am willing to allow Him to deal with whatever issue I am facing.\u00a0 And inevitably, He takes my problems and uses them for my benefit.<\/p>\n
Another challenge for Christians is to know how much to care for others. In my experience, there is no middle ground with this issue.\u00a0 There are two groups of people: those who do too much for others, and those who do too little.\u00a0 No one seems to get it quite right.<\/p>\n
In Paul\u2019s Epistle to the Philippians 2:3-4, he says,<\/p>\n
\u201cDo nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valuing others above ourselves is hard to do. We naturally think of our own needs first.\u00a0 But living a life in which we satisfy only our own needs and rarely serve others doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0 In our most intimate relationships, such an approach is a disaster.\u00a0 Try always putting your own needs before those of your spouse and see how that works for you.\u00a0 If you do, I can assure you that you will be on a fast track to a divorce.\u00a0 If you do the same with your children, they will grow up to be unhappy and frustrated adults.\u00a0 Our personal relationships don\u2019t work when we don\u2019t regularly put the needs of others before our own.\u00a0 However, when we take care of the needs of those closest to us, we show them that we love them.\u00a0 We show them that they matter to us.\u00a0 And then those relationships \u201cwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
We aren\u2019t just called to consider the needs of our friends and families. We are supposed to consider the needs of strangers.\u00a0 That is harder to do. \u00a0This past weekend, our family spent some time in New York City.\u00a0 That is a place that is teeming with strangers in need of help, from homeless people to prostitutes to drug addicts.\u00a0 The number of people in need of help in our country is beyond what our government or churches can manage.\u00a0 We each, individually, have a responsibility to do something to help others.\u00a0 Some of us are called to do more than others, but each of us has a responsibility to do something<\/em>.\u00a0 Parts of our world look like a tragic mess because we all aren\u2019t following Paul\u2019s challenge to put the interests of others before our own.<\/p>\n Being God\u2019s representative on earth is not an easy task. We are called to act in ways that don\u2019t make sense by the world\u2019s values.\u00a0 But remember that God\u2019s ways are always better than ours.\u00a0 And when we try to follow His ways, our lives \u2013 and our world \u2013 improve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The most difficult part of being a Christian is trying to be one of God\u2019s representatives on earth. That is no small task.\u00a0 God has given us rules for how to interact with others, and some of them are not easy to follow.\u00a0 But if every person who claims to be a Christian actually followed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n