Overcoming Revenge

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Suffering Soldiers

by Stephen Baker I n ancient Israel, God gave a very strict law for the Jewish people to follow. He said, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:24-25). This was the law of the nation of Israel: exact justice for any wrong done to another.

In the New Testament, Jesus taught that Christians should live their personal lives in an entirely different way. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy 1. Pray for your enemies. In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus told us to do good and pray for our enemies. When you start to pray for someone who has wronged you, God will begin to remove the bitterness from your heart. This will release you from selfdestructive hatred. 2. Don’t take revenge. In Romans 12:19, God cautions us to not take revenge. Our revenge results in limited, human judgment. Often, it gets us in trouble and puts us in a worse situation than before!

neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44).

Revenge is rooted in our desire to get back at someone for a wrong that they have done to us. We tend to be very sympathetic to ourselves when we do wrong to others. However, we have little patience with others when they wrong us. The Bible does not teach that revenge is wrong. It just teaches that revenge does not belong to us. It belongs to God.

3. Give place to wrath.

The proper place for wrath is with God. Turn your wrath over to Him. Not only will God carry out perfect revenge for wrongs done, but you will not get in trouble for doing something foolish! 4. Show mercy.

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve. God commands His children to be merciful because He is merciful. God forgave us after our sins put Jesus on the cross. Why can we not show mercy to others?

God’s revenge is always just. What right do you and I have to take more revenge than God? God’s revenge may be slower than ours. That is because God is wiser than us and knows the proper time and place for vengeance. He also gives time for repentance because He is merciful. While we cannot always see repentance, God can. It would do all of us good to show more mercy. The thing you’re thinking will destroy the person who wronged you will actually destroy you. A desire for vengeance will eat away at your life. It will cause you to lose sleep and ruin your health. Turn vengeance over to God. He is an expert. You are not.

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