Rethink: Turn the other Cheek

Over the past few months I've been thinking a lot about why we as Christians call ourselves Christians. We choose to not stand up for what we really believe in. The answer I often hear is that God calls us to "turn the other cheek." Sometimes I wish more people would read the Bible instead of listening to others. Often others ignore context in order to get a point across. Here's what it says in Matthew 5:38-40... [ Teaching about Revenge ] “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.] Jesus is teaching on revenge. He isn't talking about people who tries to take away our religious rights out of hate. When I read scripture I see Christ calling those people out, especially other religious people. So again I ask, why don't we stand up for Christ? He clearly stood up for us when He died on a cross. I love Christian rock music. Recently I've been listening to a band called Icon for Hire. Here's a link to a video about this called "Make a Move" If you don't like loud Christian Music...please don't click on the link. So if we're going to rethink when/why we should turn the other cheek then honest questions need to be answered. Do we use Christianity as a crutch or an excuse? Do we shy away from people who disagree because we're ignorant about the Bible? She we even call ourselves Christians if we choose when/where/how we are going to be Christian depending on the situation or location. Christ would be appalled. Fortunately for us, He knew we'd do this and still chose to Die for US. So what's the answer? Well it comes down to 1 choice. Either don't call yourself a Christian, or suck it up and make the change. We're either going to do like the people in the Icon for Hire video and stand up for what they believe in, or we're going to run away and try our best not to make Christians look bad. Which one are you going to choose? How will we change the world if we simply stopped being second rate Christians? The world would be changed. Fortunately if you're reading this then Jesus gave you another chance; another minute to get it right. Let's make it happen! Let's rethink our excuses. God Rocks, JTW