You have heard the saying: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I, however, say to you, do not resist evil. If someone hits your right cheek, offer him also the other.” (Mt 5:38-39)
Always before a fight or misunderstanding, the best thing is to separate yourself from the moment, waiting until the dust settles to make sensible decisions. The true wise person is patient. This waiting is to offer another cheek. “Patience is greater than heroism, whomever dominates the heart is great than the one who conquers a city.” (Prov 16:32)
Of course that is not easy to control your instincts, the will many times is to go behind the guy and rip the neck of the blessed, but is is not going to advance anything…Therefore, it is good to stop, take a deep breath, count to 1000, leave the dust behind, allowing God to heal. But “Never an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth.”
Ademir Costa
Translated from Portuguese