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There’s a common misconception in Christianity that you must always turn the other cheek. People cite Jesus and say this is what you must do. But if you actually study Jesus, you will see he had 3 methods of dealing with disrespect.

1. Jesus turned the other cheek. True. He often did this much to his unfortunate detriment but because he wanted to display unconditional love.

2. Jesus walked away. He did this a whole lot too. In fact, some folks say he walked away from rude people over 40 times in the Bible. Just up and walked away. No discussion. No arguments. Just said I’m done with this conversation by walking away. After all, he had a greater focus and purpose and couldn’t waste time and energy on someone that failed to understand, often intentionally.

3. Jesus had a moment of righteous anger. What is righteous anger? It is when we see someone doing something so wrong and so evil, we must confront them. We have an obligation to God and honor to confront them. Jesus overturned the money men’s tables in the temple.

He did do this.

He did not always turn the cheek. You as a follower are not obligated to sit in the stink someone is cropdusting over your life just because that is what Jesus would do. That is a lie.

Teaching young people that their only course of action with a bully is turning the cheek……this is wrong and irresponsible and incorrect. This is not right to disable them like that against abuse. Jesus had 3 methods, not 1.

Now I don’t recommend you treat bullies like this….although it is well deserved and comical.

However, I am a strong advocate for Jesus’s method #2.

If they fail to understand you, if they intentionally choose to misunderstand you, if they are mean and unkind….then by all means, stop conversation and about face and walk away. Don’t answer their phone calls. Don’t answer their texts. Just walk away. Just cut them off.

You don’t have the time nor energy to fix them even though you may have earnestly tried. If someone wants to stay in their sin, they stay in their sin.

End of story.

You can’t fix someone who refuses to be fixed and you can’t convince someone of something truthful they refuse to see.

Jesus wasn’t bitter about it. He just knew that he had limited time and energy on this planet and should not waste it on a losing battle of wills.

Jesus said, “Do not cast your pearls before swine.” It’s a useless waste. Now let me repeat that again, “Do not cast your pearls before swine.” Well, what the heck is the pearl and what the heck is the swine?

The pearl is you.

You are the pearl.

You child of God.

You.

By nature of being born into the inheritance of God, you are by nature….not by your own merit….but by nature….you are the pearl all on your own.

So what is the swine? The swine is someone who fails to see you as a pearl, either accidentally but most often on purpose. And they treat you in a manner that is disrespectful and unkind.

Do not cast your pearls before swine. As valuable as you are, do not linger in the presence of a person who has the manners of a pig.

We all got free will. If you choose to be a pig, to willfully choose to misunderstand truth, honesty, sincerity, and authenticity……well that’s on you.

Gotta get going down the road now, no time to waste. Just kicking the dust off these shoes and keep stepping on. No more time to waste.

If you choose to misunderstand my message, well…..that’s on you. We all got free will. I chose mine the day I turned my life over to God. When my chips were low and there was no friend in sight, there was God and I won’t forget that.

You go do you now.

But there will be an accounting on all actions. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not 3 decades down the road. Maybe only when you die.

You’ll have to take an accounting for what you did and what you did not do when you should have and that’s on you.

You got free will and so do I. And mine’s telling me it’s about time to move on to a place where I’ll be valued and treated better for my worth. I haven’t been feeling the love lately. In truth, I feel pretty beat up. Pretty dang beat up by this world. I got a lot of injuries to my mind, body, and soul and they hurt a lot. In the past 5 months, I’ve suffered a shoulder out of joint, a lumber strain, tennis elbow, pains in my spine, and now carpel tunnel. I’m tired. I’m wore out.

I’m going on maybe to a better occupation or maybe a better family or maybe just something else better down the road…cause I deserve that. I deserve peace, joy, and hope. I deserve to be treated well.

All God’s children deserve that.

Jacob was the pearl.

Laban was the pig. All Laban had, he got from his association to Jacob who was blessed as the pearl. And instead of being grateful for Jacob, he was ungrateful and rude and mean and even enslaved Jacob out of greed to squeeze every last drop of treasure he could out of Jacob.

Laban was the ungrateful, rude pig with no manners that thought he was better than Jacob, told everyone he was better than Jacob, and over and over again demonstrated his low esteem and hubris towards Jacob to everyone and that ain’t right. That’s just not right. Pigs just ain’t right. Their mindset is so completely off.

Baby girl.

Baby boy.

You are a pearl.

You are a treasure.

You are God’s treasure.

Don’t do like I did. Don’t make my mistake. Crying and wasting time and energy and giving my God-given abundance and blessings and all my emotion and thoughts for years to folks who acted like pigs with no manners.

Don’t do that.

Hold your head up high.

You are a pearl.

Don’t you ever forget that.