PASSIVE, AGGRESSIVE, OR ASSERTIVE? -- Devotional for June 12, from "Good Seeds"

Do not resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:39). In His own defense Jesus said, “Everything I’ve said and done has been out it the open. So why are you treating me like a conspirator?” At these words one of the guards standing by slapped Jesus across the face, saying, “How dare speak to the high priest like that!” Jesus replied, “If I’ve said anything wrong tell me; but if I’ve just been speaking plain truth, why did you strike Me?” (John 18:23)

An old gospel song says, “I have but one sincere desire: I want to be like Jesus.” This indeed is the job description of every Christian: “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ has left an example for you to follow in His steps” (I Peter 2:21). He is indeed the perfect role model for perfect human behavior – not that we could even come close to that by our own efforts. Bear in mind, though, that Christlike living is not the means of salvation, but the fruit of it. And this is the quality of life Jesus is teaching, and then exemplifying, in today’s Scripture reading. But upon first glance, it almost appears as though Jesus is NOT practicing what He preached, for although He taught us not to resist evil men, even to the point of inviting them to continue to assault us, when He found Himself in such a situation, He didn’t take violence aimed at Him lying down, but rather showed calculated resistance to His persecutors. We can best explain and refute this apparent contradiction by making the distinction between the three terms: passive, aggressive, and assertive. To let someone just slap us around, violating our person physically, mentally, or emotionally, without protecting ourselves by putting up a defense –- that is the passive response. Though it may seem this is what Jesus taught, His reaction when struck on the face proves otherwise. A dead body can be passive, but we are very much alive with His life, a life we would share with the world. So we are not to be passive when assaulted by evil. But neither are we to be aggressive. To meet violence with violence reduces the conflict to no more than a street fight between warring factions, and the gang with the most guns wins! We know there is such a thing as “just war” where aggression for the sake of the preservation of life and freedom may be called for. But what Jesus was preaching is what He practiced when He was on trial for His life: assertiveness. It is neither aggressive nor rude to bring your attacker’s motives to his own attention. And so, the next time I’m assaulted, I want to be like Jesus: not seeking to protect myself, but seeking a lost soul by bearing witness to the righteousness of God, with the hope of drawing my enemy into the fellowship of His beloved.