The European way of life masked as Christianity has two fundamentals - Love and Forgiveness, supposedly.
The greatest Commandment, according to Jesus, is love. Love God with all your heart... And the second greatest is, love your neighbor as yourself... - Matthew 22:37-39.
If you love your neighbor, you will not steal from him, you will not bear false witness against him, you will not sleep with his wife, etc. By loving your neighbor as yourself you would be keeping the entire Ten Commandments.
Unfortunately, there is no love, and obeyance, in this world. Even before Moses came with his Ten Commandments Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit. Cain killed Abel his brother. Israelites worshipped the golden calf, etc.
Moses' Ten Commandments didn't work. It was an eye for an eye - do me I do you. Something had to change, otherwise “An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind”, according to MK Gandhi.
Hence, Jesus came with his message of love and forgiveness. Such as, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us" (The lord's Prayer).
If someone slaps you on one cheek turn the other cheek, I suppose, to receive a second slap.
After receiving the second slap, and the person decides to give me another slap, which other cheek would I turn? I have 2 cheeks, and both cheeks are already slapped.
I believe there should be a limit to forgiveness even though Jesus asked Peter to forgive his brother 70 times 7. That is, always forgive. Nobody should allow anyone to slap him left and right while he keeps forgiving the person.
That limit to forgiveness, according to the bible's account of God's decision to banish satan from heaven, is betrayal. Satan betrayed God, instead of killing him, God chose to banish him from heaven to earth.
Clearly, distancing yourself from a position of receiving a second slap could be the best form of forgiveness. Forgiveness literally means non-retaliation.
What if you die forgiving your brother 70 times 7 while receiving his repeated slaps? I guess, your reward is in heaven. Not for me.
In death, you will be surprised that there's no heaven and no hell. You'll probably return to earth (reincarnation) to meet your brother for more slaps.
But there are some people who are not willing to turn the other cheek. One such person is President Putin of Russia.
While being interviewed, Putin was asked if he forgives. He answered yes, but not everything. What don't you forgive the interviewer asked. President Putin replied - Betrayal.
Well, few a days ago we all heard what happened to the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. He died in a supposed airplane crash.
Prigozhin led a short-lived rebellion against Putin. Putin referred to his action as a betrayal. And Putin doesn't forgive betrayal. The rest is history.
To those military leaders of West African francophone countries running to Putin for protection, be aware that Putin does not forgive betrayal.
As for me, if I can, I will never allow the first slap, how much more turning the second cheek. Otherwise, my forgiveness is distancing myself from you after receiving the first slap.
And to those who believe in "the measure you give is the measure you will receive", you have an ally in President Vladimir Putin.
After all, Christianity told us that there's hell for the sinners. That means, in the end, some people will not be forgiven. They also say that the wage of sin is death. That sounds like unforgiveness.
Most especially, the bible stated that the sin against the holy spirit will never be forgiven. That sin sounds like Betrayal.
~ liberate your mind
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