No revenge

~Friday for Friends~

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 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,”[a] says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[b]
   Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:17-21 (NIV)

To not at least try to avenge something that hurt us - this can be really hard to do. It might be something small that just irks us or something that has been haunting our memory for years. It feels right to do something about it, to make the person pay for the pain they cost us. 

God says, again and again, that we are not to be overcome by this desire to even things out. It is God's to judge. We are to try our best and pray for His help with loving our neighbor, with actions as well as with words. It helps to remember the (oh, so many!) mistakes we ourselves have made before our friends and, more importantly, before God. To remember that God forgives us no matter what because of a sacrifice that cost Him so much. 

I am not saying to let people walk all over you or to keep quiet about abuse or the like. Please don't. But it's important to give the job of avenging to God and remind ourselves that He forgives, so we should too.