Sweet Revenge

Should I Get Even?

Do not gloat when your enemy falls when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice. Proverbs 24:17

Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 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. Romans 12:17-19

Have you ever been wrongly accused of something that you haven’t done? Has someone ever gossiped about you with no truth and it has gotten back to you? Have you ever been intentionally slighted or left out by a good friend? Have you ever invested a lot of your life into a relationship and they have “stabbed you in the back”?

We can often put aside offenses committed against us personally, but what if the offense is committed against our spouse or our kids? To watch someone hurt the people we love often makes us angry.  We want justice, or we just want to get even.

Leviticus 19 says, “Do not go about spreading slander, do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. Do not hate your brother in your heart. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge but love our neighbor as yourself.”

To avoid doing any of things is really hard. We want to tell everyone we know how we were wronged. Isn’t it natural to hold a grudge? In our human nature it almost seems impossible not to do these things. Why do you think He told us not to slander, hate or hold a grudge? Unresolved anger becomes bitterness. Bitterness poisons our heart and spills over into our other relationships. In the end, it also creates a barrier between us and God. Often when I find something is difficult for me to attain, I take it to prayer.

I picture myself gathering up all my thoughts and emotions concerning that struggle and putting them in a basket. Then I picture the cross and I lay my basket down at the foot. I am symbolically asking for God’s help, releasing them to His care and keeping, relinquishing my control of the situation and releasing the burdens that I carry myself.

What grudges do you carry that you want justice for? If you were to carry out revenge, what would it solve? Would it repair the relationship or cause a greater divide? Would it make you feel better, probably but it would only be temporary? Would it make your self look better in the eyes of others? Would it change the past? The best possible solution is leave it in God's hands, let Him take care of it. In the end, He knows best!