A few days ago I went to a Walmart in Beijing, China with a few teammates. This Walmart was amazing! It had Chinese candy, American candy, a Dairy Queen, and normal clothes. This may not seem like a big deal to you but I challenge you to try living out a book bag for a year. You’ll start crying every time you see a Walmart because normalcy is what you crave! But that’s beside the point…
As I entered Walmart, I walked swiftly to the section that had the highest priority, the candy section, trying to make the most of the 30 minutes my teammates were going to be in Walmart.
As I am walking to the candy section, an old guy grabs me by the arm and starts speaking to me in Chinese. At first, I ignored him because I thought he was just going to ask for money (sorry, ugly heart moment there). However, seconds later, all that changed after he blew a snot-rocket directly onto my shoe.
As I looked down at my shoe, a million thoughts ran through my mind. The first thought being…”Should I punch this old guy in his throat?”
I looked up at him, perplexed, and thought “is he serious?”
But as he looked at me, he smiled.
At this point my memory gets blurry because I was growing furious.
He was smiling but I saw the rage on his face and I, literally, just froze out of fear.
Yes, I admit it…I was super tough in my head but this old guy scared me!
I didn’t know what to do. In fact, I had a vision of him, instead, punching me in my throat.
Honestly, I was confused.
It was indeed a true test of patience.
But it got me thinking…
How should Christians respond in situations like that? At what point do we throw a punch? Should we ever throw a punch? What if he was younger, would it have changed the situation?
To be honest turn the cheek or pray for your enemies didn’t cross my mind in that situation. And I’m not sure I know where the line between common sense, self-defense and radical love is. What do you think?
Should this Christian have punched this guy in his throat? How would you have responded in this situation?
p.s. This picture was taken after leaving Walmart. Ice cream always makes me feel better…don’t judge me! I’m still working on a few things.
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