Revenge is Sweet

"Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, " says the Lord.

Romans 12:19

There was a show on Netflix last year that I just loved.  It played out all of the fantasies those of us might have who have been deeply hurt by someone .  In it, Emily Thorne returns to the Hamptons where she previously lived and an incident ruined her family.  She portrays herself as someone completely different, and becomes a member of the inner circle of the high society she was once a member of.  Once there, she plans vengence on all the people who hurt her family, and she doesn't care at what cost.  The plot twists and turns are very interesting, and one by one she destroys the people who were responsible for her family's pain.  One can't help but cheer her on, as each "bad guy" drops according to her plan.

I guess we are drawn to a show like this because all of us have someone in our lives who has caused us pain, anywhere on a scale from a minor hurt to a life changing disasterous situation.  Most of the time, our "human-ness" wants them to pay.  In some way, whether large or small, we want to be vindicated.  We want the world to see that this person is wrong, and we were right.  We want acknowledgement that we were injured by this person.  We want everyone to know....finally...... that we are the ones who were truthful, upright, and morally correct.

But it doesn't always work that way.  Life is NOT fair, as your mother told you when you were growing up.  It just isn't .When that happens, what do we , as followers of Christ, do?  I once had an example of a person who was deeply hurt.....one of the life changing hurts...... and I stood by amazed.  This person looked straight ahead, cried in secret, and walked forward with integrity.  Revenge was not in the plan for this person.  Carrying on and obeying God was.  I often look at people who behave that way and wonder how they can do it. 

In an article in the February issue of Mature Living, John Koessler makes the following statements:

       "It is easy to see how anger might be directed toward those we perceive to be the agents of injustice.  But we are just as likely to direct it toward God.  Like the prophet Jonah, hunkered down on the outskirts of Nineveh, we wait impatiently to see what God will do.  We may even try to force God's hand.  Sometimes we do this by prayer, trying to wear God down with our words.  Or maybe it's by bargaining, offering to give God something in the hope that we will get what we want in return.  We engage in extreme acts of devotion in a vain effort to attract His attention.  And sometimes we take matters into our own hands by exacting revenge on those who have hurt us.  All such strategies are really a kind of dare  They offer a challenge to God.  But they also reflect a shred of hope.  It is the hope that the moral arc of God's justice will eventually complete its long course and land with full force on those who have wronged us.  Instead, we find that we cannot force God's hand.  We cannot bend His will to ours.  We cannot accelerate His timetable.  Like it or not, we are compelled to wait."

I was recently faced with an opportunity to see justice served in a situation of my own.  Finally given the opportunity to hold someone accountable, I have to admit I was hopeful and anxious to see my justice.  The world calls it 'karma'.  I called it answering to poor behavior.  I am coming to realize, however, that wanting someone else to 'pay' is tied to the forgiveness issue.  If we really want someone to pay for their sins against us, then the work on forgiveness is probably not done.  Certainly, one level of forgiveness is releasing the hate and anger.  But I think maybe there are deeper levels, levels that can allow us to do these things:

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord."

     - Leviticus 19:18

and

"Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."

1 Peter 3:9

A few years ago, when I attended a banquet for Alliance for Life, the speaker told of having a "word" from God to guide her throughout the year.  I have tried to do that ever since.  This year, God kept impressing on me the word 'forgiveness'.  I was puzzled by His choice of that word, because I thought all that was done.  He has shown me through recent events that this is not true.  So 'forgiveness' is my word for 2018, and I will do the deeper work He is asking me to do.  He will have to do the supernatural work, because my 'human-ness' cries vengence on some level.  But He is faithful.....He will complete the work begun in me.

In this month of concentration on love, is there an area where you need to think about these issues....revenge, forgiveness, loving the unlovable?  May we all go deeper into that word, looking at love at least on some level the way God does.