Having respect for others and trying to do right is a key part to living a successful life. By not striving for this, bad actions can come back and bite you in the butt. In “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”, our angel is wise enough to know this. He somehow always manages to turn the other cheek, like we are told to do in Mark 5:39 of the Bible.
“But I say, don’t resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too.”
In the aforementioned story, this man, an angel, falls to the earth. Despite who and what he is, people treat him terribly. They steal his feathers, thinking they will heal any ailments. Villagers cage him in a chicken coop and only bother to throw him leftovers of food they’ll never eat. Basically, they treat him as a circus attraction. Through all of this, he remains calm and patient, always turning the other cheek.
When I was in the eighth grade, my best friend suddenly dropped me and the rest of our friends. She was so mad at us for a reason that still remains unclear. She pitted all of her friends against us, and they tortured us. During lunch, these mean girls would throw food at us and constantly talk bad about us to anyone that would listen. My friends and I always tried to ignore them. The girl that started it all later ended up with only two friends because of how she treated everyone.
In our world today, children learn to always fight fire with fire. From birth, they think that it’s okay to treat others badly. These children are taught wrong. When raised correctly, we know to always turn the other cheek, like Jesus always did. Maybe if everyone could pick up on this, the world would be a better place to be.
