13/10/2014 - SAY NO TO VENGEANCE

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Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; wait for the Lord, and He will save you. Proverbs 20.22

It is not good to be hurt by someone. Who isn´t annoyed with the employee that robs you, or with the person that lies about you, or the person that disrupts you with something? Yet if we allow it, anger will fill our hearts, and we will soon think about our vengeance. Those who belong to God observe what He says and will never be led by the desire of vengeance. Be a servant of God in everything.

Notice that the Lord does not only prohibit us to have revenge, but also to speak that we will do so. The fact is that our words have an enormous power (Ps 34.13; Ja 3.8,9). Therefore, observe what the Scriptures say and do not reject what has been written. If vengeance was not something condemnable, the Lord would not have impeded us to speak about it or act in such a way. We must trust in the Most High, for He has another way of making our hearts be satisfied (Mt 5.6).

Those who are born again do not belong to the evil one any longer (1 Jo 5.18). Be watchful, for the devil first will use someone to offend you. Then, he will convince you to have revenge. What he wants is to see you acting in discordance with the Word, practicing the works of the flesh (Gl 5.20). Then, he will be able to guide you, leading you to have revenge on he who offended you. How many people have acted without thinking, and after having their desire of vengeance quenched, spent years in jail?

Apostle Paul said that it would be better to suffer injustice and harm (1 Co 6.6-8) than to sue another person, for the dispute would already be a complete defeat for the Body of Christ. “I will not accept injustice, by no means”, somebody might say. Certainly, those who express themselves in such a way have not gone through the process of being born again. Those who are in Christ are God’s servants and thus, what they are and have all belong to Him. The Father declares that vengeance is His, and He will reward the person that lets Him act (Rm 12.19). It is better to ask for His mercy towards your offender than to be hasty.

Certainly, our offender is in the hands of the Almighty (Hb 10.31). Therefore, we must ask Him to have mercy on our offender. Instead of cursing, we should bless this person (Rm 12.14,20). Now, if we walked according to the divine will, serving God with fullness of heart, He would have protected us from the things that people might have done to us, spoken about us or about one of ours (Pv 16.7). However, as it usually happens, we always have a reason for not walking 100% according to Scriptures (Pv 3.7).

God will save all who trust in Him. Vengeance executed by man or by authorities will not bring the son back, will not make the daughter a virgin again, nor will make time go back to destroy the evil that happened to someone who might not have known about the plans of the devil. However, we can cancel the devil’s next acts if we accomplish the divine will, for this is the purpose why the Son of God was manifested (1 Jo 3.8).

The whole Word of God should be understood and respected. Those who are not firm in the faith see many evil things happening to them. Those who do not falter in the mission that was given to them serve the Most High with integrity of heart. Therefore, they will be rewarded for what they do, even if it is to give a cup of cold water to one of the little ones that believe in the Lord (Mt 10.42).

In Christ, with love,

R.R.Soares