https://odb.org/MY/2022/05/25/run-away
When I was in my teens I joined in to listen to a conversation between my dad and his brother (my uncle) who was a martial arts instructor. This uncle shared that the purpose in learning martial arts and to train is not to prove who is the better fighter but to be able in a life threatening situation to throw the fastest punch and run. Not to stand your ground and fight. I remembered that advice till today even though I have never personally trained in self defence. In the course of my life I had however heard of two real life stories of people getting into fights and got killed. One was a black belt holder confronting a few armed robbers and was in the process slashed and killed.
The best defence in self defence is to run. Thus it is good to be always physically conditioned to run in terms of our fitness and attire – better to wear shoes than slippers when going out and for ladies, be prepared to discard your heels.
In fact, the best defence even in a verbal argument is to retreat and lose the argument. This is counter intuitive and I need to practice this more when it comes to my wife but it’s the truth. The principle is that it is OK to lose the argument to preserve the friendship and the relationship because in the heat of the moment if we continue arguing, we may end up really quarrelling with heated words exchanged and bad vibes flowing. We may not be friends again after that. Why? Because we wanted to win the argument, because we wanted to be right, because we wanted to show we are better and cleverer. But is our self assertion worth the relationship at stake? It is thus better to retreat and revisit the issue if it’s important enough when cooler heads are present. Logic do not usually go hand in hand with anger and hurt!
I think when Jesus taught for us to offer the other cheek if someone were to slap us, He meant that we should always think of the bigger picture. What’s at stake and what’s more important? Not that we should never fight back or stand for justice or righteousness. Not that we must always retreat and surrender. Our principles are “right side up” but there is always a deeper meaning to what appears superficially. As believers, we are not cowards but are bold and courageous but for the right reasons. If Jesus had fought back, He would not have been arrested and crucified and would not have died for our sins. The events were allowed take place so that what was written in the Scriptures previously may be fulfilled. Ultimately in all that we do, our intent must be for the will of God to prevail, here on earth as it is in heaven!
Ronnie's Thoughts 