Leave Vengeance to the Lord

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible.  Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord.  Instead, do what the Scriptures say: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you."   Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.  (Romans 12:17-21 NLT)

Wow.  This is a tough one.  Not only are we to restrain ourselves from seeking revenge on those who wrong us, we are to forgive them.  And not only are we to forgive those who wrong us, we are to do them good!  Now that is going just a bit too far, don't you think?  Why in the world would our God ask us to do good to those who wrong us?

I think it's important to know that the Lord would not ask us to do what He has not already done.  Remember, as He was hanging on the cross to die for our sins- as He was being tormented and mocked- His response was to pray for them,  “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).  Remember also that His ways are higher than our ways.  He has a greater understanding of what revenge, anger, resentment, and unforgiveness do to our souls.  Forgiveness frees us from so much pain.  Doing good to those who hurt us not only frees us, but it shows them (and others) the love of God, and is a huge testimony to our God's greatness.  You may not think of yourself as a sales representative, but you are.  And the product you are selling is a relationship with your Savior.  You have no idea what your act of obedience will do for the soul of that individual, and for the souls of those who witness your forgiveness.  Doing good conquers evil, rather than perpetuates it.

I do want to clarify that the focus of this devotional is the opportunities you have each day to forgive others.  The focus here is not on violent crimes and what should be done with the offenders.  However, even on a more "everyday level" there are actions that deserve consequences.  There are things that should not go unpunished.  But leave vengeance to the law, and to the Lord.

If being free from the pain of anger, resentment, and unforgiveness is not enough motivation to release the need for revenge, I will provide one more motivator for you: "God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matthew 5:7NLT).  I'm not sure about you, but I know that I wrong my Heavenly Father daily.  And daily He shows me mercy.  I don't want Him to start giving me what I deserve!

I know it is a long and challenging road to become more Christ-like.  But as we seek the Heavenly Father and His Kingdom, we become more like Him and lead others to a relationship with Him as well.