But what if someone came at you? Like you try to prevent a situation, yet they are persistent. Getting in your face screaming, to a point where they want to fight you. How would you handle this?
I had a situation where I was shopping in a store, and I, as well as everybody else in the store, heard a man getting very loud and aggressive towards the woman he was with. I sensed that it was about to escalate to the point where he was going to hit her, so I quickly surveyed the store with my eyes to see if there might be some security officer there, and I saw none. Instead, I saw a bunch of elderly women, and a bunch of teenage boys and girls, and I quickly came to the realization that if things did escalate, then I was realistically the only person there who might be able to stop it. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the man punched the woman in her face, As I worked my way towards them from behind (because of where I was located in the store), she tried to fight back, and he hit her a few more times. I had a few options. I could have done nothing. I could have grabbed or tackled the man from behind while trying to physically restrain him. I could have punched him in the back or side of his head. Instead, I grabbed his right shoulder from behind while forcibly swinging him around to the point where he was now facing me, and I said something to the effect of "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MAN?!?" He hesitated for a couple of seconds, and then he took off out of the store.
What if he hadn't taken off?
What if he came at me aggressively, or what if he attempted to hit the woman again?
If he came at me, and I just let him hit me, then I would be taking the only realistic option for the woman's safety (me) out of the equation, and he would have been free to continue to assault her. Had he made an aggressive move towards either me or the woman, then I would have punched him right in his face without the slightest bit of hesitation. Had that happened, or had I punched him, would God have been angry with me or pleased with me? This is a sincere question, and I am genuinely curious as to what your answer, or anybody else's answer, would be. Had I done nothing, and had the man continued to assault the woman, what would the other people in the store have thought about me? How would I have felt afterwards if I just stood by idly while a man publicly beat a woman? I would have been deeply ashamed of myself, and I don't know if I would ever have gotten over it.
If someone can rationally show me, preferably from scripture, that God would not want me to intervene in such a situation, and possibly to the point where I would need to hit such an individual for the safety of others, then I will certainly change my current mindset. Generally speaking, I am a totally non-violent person, and I think that I can honestly say before both God and anybody reading this that I have never once played the role of an antagonist in my entire life. That said, to my current beliefs, which I am willing to change, if need be, there may very well be times when fighting is justifiable.