Doing the unnatural thing

I recently went through an experience that was very revealing to me. I was attacked by a person I care deeply for. To make matters worse, I felt the attack was unjustified; that it wasn't warranted. As I sat there as this person was ripping into me, many thoughts went through my mind. The first was to defend myself, to lash right back. I felt I had the facts on my side and that I had every right to defend myself. It was unfair to sit there and take this. I was ready to respond, to pounce back. But as the attack went on, which in hindsight was a blessing, another thought slowly seeped into my head. It was the words of Jesus..."turn the other cheek." I quickly tried to get rid of this thought. I wanted revenge. I was being attacked. But then another thought came in, the words of Solomon who said a gentle word turns away anger. As I sat there contemplating these two competing emotions, anger and forgiveness, I said a prayer to God. His answer was to seek peace.

Many times, God tries to teach us do things that are counter to our human nature, unnatural is the word that jumps to my mind. I thought of a lesson that my class had in Sunday School last week. We were studying the prophet Micah and he told the people of Israel that God desired three things from them: seek justice, be merciful and walk humbly. In other words, God desires for us to seek justice, even when we're wronged. Even when we have every right to hate, He wants us to do what is right. He wants us to be merciful, to have compassion, even for those who don't deserve it. He wants us to walk humbly, even when we have a right to puff out our chests.

Jesus expands this line of thought in His sermon on the Mount. He says, "Blessed are are the meek ...Blessed are those that mourn... Blessed are those that are poor in Spirit..." He tells us to turn the other cheek when we've been wronged. He says we should embrace our trials. All these things go counter to our nature. They are, again, unnatural responses for human beings. But God teaches us to have these qualities. God wants us to exhibit them for the world. At first glance, they might be a sign of weakness. But when you take a look at it again, they are the opposite. They're a sign of strength. Anyone can be patient when the going is good. Anyone can be compassionate when they're not the one that needs it. The true measure of a person is how they respond to adversity. God wants us to trust Him in those times so we should embrace adversity. We should welcome it because its an opportunity for our faith in Him to grow.