Revenge vs. Grace

Proverbs 20:22 says, "Do not say, 'I'll pay you back for this wrong!' Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you."

James 1:19-20 says, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because our anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires."

Recently I was provoked to anger on account of close family members who were treated unfaily and taken advantage of in a business situation. Because I love them, and because they were victims I felt justified to be angry. I decided that I was going to take action. My family members, however, did not want me to fight for them. I couldn't understand it - why would anybody let themselves be bullied by someone, then not be willing to allow someone else to come to their defense? It just didn't make sense to me.

Then the Lord reminded me of that old verse from James, "the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

But what about Jesus? He got angry in the temple and turned over the money changers tables?

"You aren't Jesus, and Jesus wasn't just a man. His righteousness IS the rightousness of God."

OK, so what should I do?

Then it hit me. I remembered the words of the Lord when he spoke to the multitudes that we read about in Matthew chapter 5 - the Sermon on the Mount.

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you. love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors (*who were apparently the epitome of spirtually destitute people in that day) do so? In this way you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
(from Matthew 5:43-48)

OK, Lord, so you want me to pray for those people and bless them? Are you kidding?

"Do you want to work your righteousness or Mine? The only way you'll work Mine is by following what My Son told you to do."

So I decided to give it a try. I prayed for the people who were causing such grief to my family. I admitted to God that I was upset with these people, then I confesed that I forgive them for what they did, and asked God to be graceful toward them. I also asked God to sincerely bless them, since Jesus told me to bless those who curse me. Since I still do not agree with their actions, I also asked God to help them realize that they cannot take advantage of others.

As it turned out, although my family members still suffered alot of stress through the ordeal, I believe God's will was done. The situation came to a amiable resolution for both parties, and my family was able obey Jesus by showing love toward these people who were actually cursing them.

I'll never forget the words that Jesus said in John 13:34-35: "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this the world will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

An Attitute of Gratitude

Today I want to share a brief word of encouragement on the matter of GRATITUDE. The Lord has been working in my life in this area alot lately. The fact is, when you are grateful, you are honoring God. Gratitude is a form of humility, and we know from James 4:10 that when we humble ourselves before God, He'll lift us up in due time. That's His promise. I believe that gratitude simply means honoring God by being thankful. Each day remembering that He granted the very life you have, and that He gave every good and perfect blessing you enjoy about your life (James 1:17). It is an act of humility and worship to thank Him for those things.

Thanksgiving is also an act of faith. According to Hebrews, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). So that means if we do not see the things God has given us, like when trials are so great that they overshadow God's blessings to our human perspective, it would be an act of faith to thank God for the things which He has provided inspite of our inability to "feel them" right now, or to "see" them. One terrific way of doing this is simply to thank God for His purpose behind every time we suffer something. Sometimes it hardly makes sense to say, "Thank you God for all the wonderful blessings in my life" when we are suffering something terrible. It almost feels fake - like we are ignoring the suffering that is louder at that moment than the blessings. Well one very real response we can have to suffering that has hurt us very loudly is not to pretend to ignore the suffering, but to thank God for allowing it to come our way. That way we are exercising faith that He does have our best interest at heart in what He permits in our lives.

A wise person I know used to always say, "Your attitude determines your altitude." There is alot of truth to that statement - and having gratitude in our hearts is a great way of keeping a good attitude in life.

KEY VERSES:

2 Cor. 9:15
"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"

Psalm 95:2
"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms."

Psalm 100:4
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."

Phillipians 4:6-7
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be makde known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Colossians 3:16
"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."