“Our friends show us what we can do, our enemies teach us what we must do.” – Johann Goethe
Explain this one to me. I mean all of you, pipe in, tell me what you think it means. I liked it when I set it on paper, but I haven’t quite ever understood it to my satisfaction.
Drawing © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
>and as far as turning the other cheek, jesus-style… that is also a confrontation.
turning the other cheek is just as much something that you must do as drawing a sword is.
>it’s bigger than that even… friendship is about building, and enemy-ship (???) is all about conflict. friends inspire and lead, enemies force us to confront.
>What if the problem is that we respond to an enemy in the first place. We force ourselves into action in other words. Isn’t that what Jesus was talking about when he said ‘turn the other cheek’? I suppose that is still an action, just not in the defensive way we usually think of a response to an enemy.
>sounds to me like a friend shows the way of hope, love, adventure. An enemy forces you to do something ~ whether you like it or not.
>I get it. The enemy forces things to happen while a friend often doesn’t present the same stark choice.
>well- Only an enemy would push you into a corner and force you to act quickly- an enemy won’t give you options, but a friend will. With an enemy it is either You or Them who wins. With a friend, you can both win, complement eachothers actions, encourage eachother. etc. An enemy won’t stand by and give you advice; an enemy with put you in a position where you MUST make a decision.
I don’t think it means that this is how things are ALL of the time, but is rather an observation on how friends and enemies behave most of the time. There is a time for good friends to demand decisions and actions, and there is a time for enemies to coerce with kindness.