TOPIC: VENGEANCE BELONGS TO GOD
Bible Text: Matthew 5:38 KJV
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
We should not fight evil with evil, but the bible instructs that we should pray for our persecutor…
What do you do when people do wrong things to you , when your friend makes a bad comment about you? Or when a driver overtakes you from the wrong side? What is your first reaction?
If you are someone who wants to fight back when someone hurt you or makes things difficult for you. You raise your voice. You make personal attacks.
Or you’re not the type to talk back or react. Instead, you keep quiet You don’t reply to their phone calls you walk away and refuse to discuss any more.
The desire to retaliate is actually rooted in a God-given desire for justice. People should actually be held accountable for things that they’ve done. But our ideas of justice are easily infected by our own anger and our feelings of self-righteousness and sometimes superiority complex. God does not want us to see Justice from our human understanding, rather he wants us to see justice from his understanding- that we are all sinners.
In the verse above Jesus leads us in a better way, inviting us to let go of revenge and to trust God as our defender. God sees and knows our suffering. He longs for justice to be done. And in his mercy, God also desires that all people would turn from sin, come to faith, and have new life in him.
Prayer:
Father, help us to turn our hurts and offence over to you rather than to take revenge. Give us the wisdom to reply with patience and compassion when we feel hurt and offended in Jesus Name. Amen.
