Taking Revenge

Romans 12:17-21 (NIV)
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
20 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."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Have you noticed who the favorite “bida” (hero in English) is in Filipino movies?  It’s always the FPJ’s, the Ramon Revillas (Sr and Jr), or the Tony Falcons (for those who still remember the guy dressed in white).  Why?  Because they always take revenge, come from the bottom and fight, overcome those who abuse and misuse them.  This is why we like soap operas where the poor young girl from the province, who is mistreated by the rich matrona of the city, will eventually become successful and win the war.  And it’s not just Filipinos, I believe this is all over the world!  We have the Karate Kid, and the super hero fighting for the weak, and the Charles Bronsons, Steven Seagals, who fight the criminals who are abusing the weak and helpless.

This is why, when someone does us wrong, have you noticed that all the scenes from those movies that you watched come up in your mind and you imagine yourself doing it to your enemy!  And in your mind it feels good!  Of course we don’t end up killing or beating up someone (hopefully), but sometimes we do end up taking revenge.  If someone gossips about us, we gossip in return.  Someone curses us, we curse in return.  If someone hurts us physically, we hurt them back physically.  It seems like the right thing to do.

But is this what God would have us do?  The teaching in this passage is clear – we are not to be a people who take revenge.  It is something that should not be seen in the life of a Christian.  And yet we are surrounded by people who hurt us, who abuse us, misuse us and mistreat us.  And deep inside our hearts we want to take revenge, to hit back.  Why doesn’t God want revenge in our hearts?

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
God wants us to have the right heart.  Do not repay evil for evil.  Why?  Because when we do this we reveal what is in our heart – that we are exactly like the person who did evil to us.  If our hearts are filled with God we will do what God would do.  Did Jesus take revenge upon those who crucified Him, who spat at Him, who called Him names and insulted Him?  No.

In the same way God wants us acting out of what fills our hearts.  It should be the love, forgiveness and goodness of God that we show.  Why live in the same way that evil persons live?  We defeat the very purpose of our walk with God.,

Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  Doing right is not supposed to be selective.  In other words, we don’t just do right to those who we feel deserve it, and do wrong to those who deserve wrong.  We do right always.  Why?  Because our hearts are filled with what is right, not with what is right and wrong.  Doing right is the standard of life that God wants us to have, no matter who we are doing it to.  A Christian is to do right always, because it is right, and because it pleases the Lord.

18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
We are to be Peacemakers.  This is a word that the Lord coined for His people.  Blessed are the Peacemakers, Jesus said in the Beatitudes.  That’s what we should be, those who desire and do things that cultivate peace.  When someone does us wrong, our desire must not be to make the situation worse, but to make peace.  Why?  This would be what the Lord desires.

Now God knows there are some limitations.  That’s why Paul taught “If it is possible”.  Sometimes peace is impossible to attain, because someone does not want peace.  But that someone should not be the Christian.  Paul also says “as far as it depends on you”.  Peace should always be initiated by us.

19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
We are not to take matters into our own hands.  A Christian is someone who is totally dependent on God for everything, in every situation.  The thing is, when someone hurts us, we usually want to take matters into our own hands, and plan the fate of the one who hurt us!  But this is not for us.

When we take revenge we do things our own way.  When we trust in God we allow Him to take revenge for us.  Think about what Paul said “leave room for God’s wrath”.  Oh our wrath may be bad, but God’s wrath will be worse!  And it’s not about hurting the person, it’s really in just entrusting the whole situation to the hand of God.  How He will take revenge for you is up to God, we are just here to trust Him.

20 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."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

As Christians we are not to allow ourselves to be overcome by evil, and in the end do evil ourselves.  We are to overcome evil with good.  This is why the Lord’s teaching is if our enemy is hungry, feed him!  If he is thirsty give him drink.  Don’t just enjoy and watch them suffer!  Help them.  Do what is right, what is good.

A Christians response to evil is good.  And this can only happen when Christ has control of our hearts, when He has filled our hearts with His love.  When we respond with good, with love, the other person is affected.

I have seen two interpretations so far of the heaping of burning coals.  One is that this represents kind deeds.  When an evil person needs coal, which was important then for cooking, the Christian heaps it on his head, so he can take it home.  Of course the coal is not on his head, but on a tray or something that carries it!

The other interpretation is most probably this was taken from an ancient Egyptian practice where the person who realized his wrong walks around their village with a tray of burning coals.  This was his way of saying “I have realized my mistake”.

When we overcome evil with good, hopefully this is what happens to the one who does evil to us.  They eventually realize that they did wrong, and ask forgiveness.

But, of course, there are those who will never apologize, and will remain our enemies.  Fine.  At least we know that the good that we did was pleasing to the Lord.  For we live for the Lord, not for the appreciation of men, whether they be our friend or enemy.

An Unshakeable Life!

Psalms 15:1-5 (NIV)
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?
2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart
3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,
4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

The last sentence of David’s psalm shows us what he is after - “he who does these things will never be shaken”.  Oh yes, who doesn’t want a life that is never shaken.  The KJV uses the phrase “shall not be moved”.  The word in Hebrew means “to slip, shake, fall”.

Now that’s life – steady, steadfast, immovable!  No matter what life throws at us, or what the devil may hurl at us, we shall not be moved! 

David saw this unshakeable life in the presence of God – “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?” he asked in the first verse.  A believer who dwells in God’s presence, who lives in His abode, is someone who will not be shaken.  The world shakes everyday – but a Christian holds on to He who is immovable, unshakeable – the Rock.

In the New Testament we have the gracious privilege of being a temple of the Holy Spirit, of God Himself indwelling us.  We dwell and live in His presence through constant communion and fellowship with the Lord.  This should always be the priority of a Christian, being in His dwelling place always.

But an unshakeable life isn’t just about prayer, or meditating upon His Word.  Prayer and God’s Word is the foundation of being in God’s presence.  But it is also about practice – practicing the presence of God in our life.  God’s presence is also about seeing Him, living His life, practicing His teachings in our daily lives.  David describes it in the psalm:

1.  He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous.  A Christian dabbling in sin, or allowing unrighteousness a place or foothold in his life, opens him up to circumstances that will surely shake him up.

2.  Who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue.  How we use our words in our relationship with others will also tell how steady our lives will be.  If we deal honestly, sincerely and respectfully with others we will be strong and surefooted.

3.  Who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman.  Our dealings with our neighbors is another basis of an unshakeable life.  If we love our neighbors, and speak only good things about them, we will not get into trouble.

4.  Who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD.  Our choice of companions, friends, those we always fellowship with, will also tell how stable our lives will be.  Who do we honor in our conversations with others?

5.  Who keeps his oath even when it hurts.  Being a man/woman of our word never hurt relationships.  On the contrary it builds up trust and gives us a good name.

6.  Who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.  How we behold money is another thing David pointed out.  Do we look at money simply as a way to get rich, to the point that we will use others just to get rich?  Do we allow money to make decisions for us?  If we are masters over our money, we have a strong and unshakeable life ahead of us.

Being in the presence of the Lord is both in our hearts and in our lives.  As we dwell in His presence, both in prayer and in action, the Lord assures us of a life that will not be shaken!

Why Jesus stayed on for forty days

Acts 1:1-3 (NIV)
1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

How many know how many days our Lord actually stayed on in this world after He rose again from the dead?  Jesus stayed on in the world for forty days!  It’s as if He wasn’t in a rush to sit at the right hand of the Father.  Of course eventually He would be in the “highest place”, His rightful place on the throne.  But before that He patiently took forty days to further strengthen the hearts of His disciples, those He would use to build His church!

And why did He stay for forty days?  There are two reasons why, and they are two vital ingredients of being, and making, disciples.

First, He gave many convincing proofs that He was alive.  Even in the first part of John 21, verses 1 to 9, the Lord had to give one more proof that He was alive:

John 21:1-6 (NIV)
1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.
6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

If you notice the conversation of the disciples, who just happened to be fishermen, there is no mention of the Lord, nor is there any attempt to call upon Him and ask for help.  Even at this time they were not yet fully convinced that He was alive.  Well, maybe they did know that He was alive, but they still could not make it a part of their daily life.

It’s not just about knowing in our minds that Christ is alive, but it’s also about being able to apply it in our life.  A disciple of Christ is not a disciple of a set of doctrines, or of a church group or organization.  He is a disciple of Christ, whom He believes with all his heart is alive!  Yes, God is alive, and we are to show it in our daily lives by praying, trusting, depending, obeying and walking in the way He wants us to walk.  We are not disciples unless we believe He is alive.

The second reason Jesus stayed for forty days more:  “He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”

There is so much to learn about the kingdom of God!  A disciple of Christ lives to learn more and more about this kingdom.  From the moment we have been born again God has allowed us to “see” the kingdom of God.  Through His Word we are given the teachings and principles of life in His kingdom that every disciple of Christ longs to follow.

Let us be thankful that up to today, through the working of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God, the Lord continues to prove to us that He is alive, and teach us concerning His kingdom’s life, teachings and principles. 

Commit your way to the Lord

Psalms 37:5-6 (NIV)
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Psalm 37 was written as a response to a common dilemma of Christians – the envy of “sinners”, or of those who do wrong, and yet are successful.

Psalms 37:1 (NIV)
1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;

Psalm 73 also shares the same sentiment:

Psalms 73:2-5;12 (NIV)
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.

12 This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth.

Why are they the ones with “successful” businesses.  They’re the ones with nice cars, big houses, money to spend on nice cell phones, fancy clothes, expensive vacations.  And here we are, Christian businessmen, walking with God, with only “little” blessings to boast of.

Why do “sinful” students who cheat get higher grades while Christian students have to study hard?  Why do worldly men always get the beautiful women and have “fun” in life?

Let’s admit it – we all feel this way.  And it’s a big temptation to let go of our Christianity, even just for one business deal, and enjoy the same benefits they have.

So how are we to deal with feelings or observations such as this?  How can we not fret because of what evildoers are enjoying?  Let’s go back to Psalm 37.

1.  REMEMBER ETERNITY.

Psalms 37:1-2 (NIV)
1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

Remember Eternity. Or should it be the other way around – remember that we will all die.  Someday, when we least expect it, we shall die.  What will happen to all we worked for?  Where will we be spending eternity?  I think we all have an idea where evildoers will be after they die.

How important it is for Christians to live with eternity in mind, realizing that when the time comes for us to join our Creator, it is our treasures in heaven that matter, not our treasures on earth.

2.  TRUST IN THE LORD AND DO GOOD

Psalms 37:3 (NIV)
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Trust in the Lord and do good.  Walking in righteousness is an expression of trust!  This is our way of telling the Lord, and others, that, as we obey God’s commands we trust that HE will be the One to bless our business or work. 

No matter how strong the temptation to earn quick bucks by following the ways of the world, we need to walk by faith, trusting that God knows what we need and will take care of us!

3.  DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD

Psalms 37:4 (NIV)
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Contrary to how many people read this verse, the focus here is in “Delight yourself in the Lord”, and not “the desires of your heart”.  Many Christians try to delight themselves in the Lord, while waiting for our desires to be fulfilled!  This is why some of us are frustrated.  Our focus must be the delight, not our desires. 

God is reminding us that life is not just about our business, our studies, or our material needs.  Life for a Christian is about delighting in the Lord!  We delight to spend time in fellowship with Him, with other believers, serving in ministry, using our resources for His glory.

The delight of a Christian is in the Lord, not in our desires.  When a Christian is truly delighting in the Lord he forgets about his desires, and just trusts that God will give them to him when He sees fit.

4.  COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD

Psalms 37:5-6 (NIV)
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Commit the way you live, the way you’re handling your business, the honesty, integrity and obedience to His word.  Give them all to God, entrust them to His care.

His promise – He will make your righteousness, and the justice of your cause, shine like the dawn, like the noonday sun.

Notice God did not say “I will make you rich, or successful”.  No.  God is not primarily concerned with success or riches.  His desire is not to boast of our accomplishments or material blessings.  What God will show others is our righteousness!  God uses us as His examples of walking in His righteousness.

Have you noticed how we enjoy listening to testimonies of successful Christian businessmen who have gained wealth, recognition, awards, etc., and desire that God does the same for us?  What about if we listened to a Christian businessman successful in praying everyday, meditating on God’s Word, walking in righteousness, not compromising his faith, and remained an unknown and did not earn as much as others?  Will we also desire that God give us the same faith and walk as him?

God will make the “justice of our cause” shine.  What cause are we working for, fighting for, in this world?  What cause has God given us in this world?  What are we living for?

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

How is God glorified in our lives?  Just through our success and abundance of material things?  No.  He is glorified primarily through our trust in Him.  As we trust in the Lord and DO GOOD, walking in righteousness, delighting in Him – these are what glorify God in our life.  The material and financial blessings are just things that God gives us that we may use them to glorify Him.

Even if we are not as rich, or successful, and even if we do not get the same benefits as others, a Christian rejoices that God is using Him to show the world that there is a God, and that He is faithful and takes care of His children.  We are here to show others that there is a joy greater than that which money and material things give.

Then we will not fret.

Add to your faith…perseverance

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV)
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

Another quality that Peter writes about that we need to add to our faith is perseverance. 

A dictionary defines perseverance as “be persistent; refuse to stop”.  The Greek word is “hypomonē” which means “cheerful endurance”.  "to abide under, to bear up courageously"—Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words

Holding on, till the end.  That’s perseverance.  The world admires people who show this quality, and rally others to do the same no matter what they’re going through.  Whether you are a cancer patient going through treatment, or someone living in dire circumstances, we are encouraged to persevere through it.

Perseverance is a character that God desires for us to have also as Christians.  It is similar with the world in the sense that it is usually expected in times of trials and hardships.  But Christian perseverance is different because of two things:

1.  Our dependence.  To persevere in the world they ask you to call on your “inner strength”, to give all that you have, to persevere.  They insist that we got it, and all we have to do is use it, will it!

With Christians, our perseverance depends not on our own strength, but in the power of God to see us through!  We go through our trials with Him.  He is our strength.  For us, it’s okay to be “weak”, for “in our weakness He is strong”

2 Corinthians 12:10 (NIV)
10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2.  Our hope.  In the world people who persevere await the good outcome, the positive result.  Of course as Christians so do we.  But there is a deeper lesson in perseverance.

Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)
3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

When a Christian holds on to the Lord, no matter what the suffering, the outcome is a character of faith, of trust, of strength found only in our belief that God is faithful.  And this produces hope, a hope not just in good results or a positive outcome, but a hope knowing that God loves us no matter what we’re going through.  And that hope does not disappoint us.

A Christian perseveres because he has a God he can hold on to, who is there when we need Him, and who has promised to be with us through the storm.  And we have a God who also promised that all things work for the good of those who love Him.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

So whether it is persevering through trials and persecution, or maybe it is persevering in the Christian life no matter how strong the pull of the world may be, or what temptation Satan may be throwing at us left and right – just hold on!  Endure cheerfully, knowing that you have a God who is with you, who strengthens you, and who will bring you to the good that He has prepared for you!