Turn Thy Cheek

Photoshop CS

This came from a random sketch. I never do odd angles like this and this time I used no reference at all. Not even a quick peek in the mirror to see how the underside of the nose looks like. It came out quite twisted and painful and got me thinking about how people can suffer hardship unnecessarily particularly in a Christian context. The text refers to Matthew 5: 38-39 and reads:

"The plain instruction is, Suffer any injury that can be borne, for the sake of peace, committing your concerns to the Lord's keeping. And the sum of all is, that Christians must avoid disputing and striving. If any say, Flesh and blood cannot pass by such an affront, let them remember, that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and those who act upon right principles will have most peace and comfort."

This kind of talk makes suffering seem like some self righteous thing which I believe is just a weakening. Sure its a good thing to let the small things slide (a slap on the cheek, some insensitive remark) but there comes a point where you need to defend yourself (blowing your opposition out of the water is not defense!). Polarisation on a topic like this can be a very bad idea. The world is not black and white.