Just can’t hear it. Resistance. Irritation.
“You
have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’
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. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over
your coat as well” (Matthew 5:39-40 NIV).
And if some guy wants to hold you up at
gunpoint and rape you, let him; &c.
I can’t think about this today.
Some events in our lives change us profoundly. Change is painful and it is too bad that profoundly and instantly are not synonymous. All I know is that I have an awesome sister that I love but more importantly - I like a whole lot!!
ReplyDeleteI think the Jodi Arias trial--which I can watch, second by second, on the internet--is triggering my PTSD or something. Not that I believe her entirely and believe her crime not to have been premeditated. I'm still deciding about that. What really bothers me is others'--commentators, everyone I know who's following the trial, (indeed, the whole legal system, which relies so entirely, it seems to me, on antiquated notions of how memory works)--ignorance about how the brain stores information and how trauma can interfere with that and how messed up people sometimes, maybe even often, go along with and even assist their own victimization.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you didn't want to know all that, and it's not really that relevant to Jesus' saying we should turn the other cheek. Or maybe it is. Maybe some part of me resists Jesus' words here because, very precisely, that's what this trial, this woman's violence, is all about.
I am sorry you had that traumatic experience. Unfortunately it cannot be undone and is forever a part of you. I think that your life response to the experience has been positive. You have chosen to respond well by writing books and expanding your faith and being willing to discuss your trauma with others - there are many who have benefitted from your words. Certainly, what others meant for evil, God has used for good.
ReplyDeletePlease don’t get me wrong - your positive response is not justification for the evil action that was perpetuated against you. We are called on to hate evil so you are justified in hating the experience and the memory. You did not respond with evil. If you had pulled out a gun and shot your attacker in defense, I don’t think that would have been an evil response. Even if you felt it was, recognizing the failing would make you a candidate for God's grace... which is not a bad place to be at all.