Jesus said "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
Taking on bullies takes training and preparation. My dad was an expert on explosives, but always took us to the 4th of July city displays, handled by professionals. Let the professional bully fighters, cops and soldiers, protect you.
Get training. Martial arts is always a good idea.
Have an exit strategy. Doves appear harmless, but can explode into flight.
Serpents keep their head down and stay in the background.
Being prepared may include being armed. Jesus made sure one of the disciples had a sword on the night He was accosted.
Be prepared to go the extra mile with your enemy. Citizens were conscripted to carry the gear of Roman soldiers one mile. Jesus said take it two miles. Jesus healed the ear that Peter cut off. Good thing the bad guy ducked. Jesus also advised turn the other cheek when your enemy slaps you. That's a hard one, especially if you've been trained to defend yourself.
A friend of mine was a youth leader and martial arts expert who was attacked in such a way he had no opportunity to defend himself. 5 men burst into his motel room, beat him badly, put a gun to his head, then said, "Is there anything you'd like to say before you die?"
"You may blow my brains all over this wall, but I'll still love you and Jesus loves you."
He was spared. God intervened.
Solomon also advised against interceding between two fighting neighbors, something about grabbing a tiger by the ears.
My fearless daughter is a supervisor at a halfway house for troubled teenage boys. She threw herself between two young men and was knocked unconscious by one of them.
I had two neighbors who were at war with each other. I saw them fighting. One neighbor had what looked like a black lead pipe and was beating the other neighbor with it. I called the police, then rushed across the street to intercede.
That night someone set my car on fire. It was parked below our bedroom window. The fireman who investigated said if the fire had been a little hotter the gas tank could have exploded, destroying the house and possibly us. I was shaken.
All week I was sleepless, waiting for another attack. Then the words of Jesus came to me. Turn the other cheek. The next day I went to the angriest neighbor and told him, since I no longer had a car, he could use my driveway if he needed it. The family had three cars that they were always jockeying around. That night I slept like a baby.
The angry neighbor became less angry. He quit mowing his lawn during church services when the church windows were open. That Christmas he sent both the senior pastor and myself a Christmas card. They both had $10 in it.
Later he became gravely ill. The pastor who followed us was privileged to lead him to Jesus.
It appears Jesus knows what He is doing.
#maddog #awesomeGod
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