“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12: 19).

Our depraved nature is very prone to recompense evil for evil, one ill turn for another.  But we are commanded not to right the wrongs ourselves.  Our Lord Jesus Christ trusted so fully in His Father’s love and absolute justice that “when He was reviled, reviled not again, when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him Who judgeth righteously” (I Pet. 2: 23).

When God says that we are not to avenge ourselves, He means that He will do the avenging.  The Bible assures us that “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6: 7).  If we really believe in God’s justice, we will not be tempted to take things into our own hands.

Let the Lord be the Judge.  He will deal with the one who has injured us.  Most certainly, He will right every wrong.  None can escape the divine hand of justice that will measure out the most appropriate recompense for every sinful act.

“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:  Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him” (Prov. 24: 17-18). 

Oftentimes, we wish something bad will happen to our enemies.  We feel vindicated when we hear of their misfortunes; we secretly rejoice when we hear of their retrenchment, family problems or loss of health.  Let us be warned that we have no right to be gleeful at the fall of another. 

We must also not delight when our enemy falls into sin.  God’s Word reminds us that love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” (I Cor. 13: 6).    Loves does not “take a malignant pleasure in the faults and sins of others” – Abbott New Testament Commentary.

Joy at the woes of an enemy is a vicious sin, and one which God will punish.  We are here warned that the LORD will see it though it be hidden in the heart; “and it displease Him,” the way it will “displease a prudent father to see one child triumph in the correction of another, which he ought to tremble at, and take warning by, not knowing how soon it may be his own case, he having so often deserved it” – Matthew Henry.
 
Let none of us therefore rejoice over the fate of our enemies, lest God punish our wilful spirit by turning “away His wrath from him” and turning it against us!  In his commentary on Proverbs 24: 18, Albert Barnes issued a solemn warning : “Thy joy will be suicidal, the wrath of the righteous Judge will be turned upon thee, as the greater offender, and thou wilt have to bear a worse evil than that which thou exultest in.”  Let us take heed!

“The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh” (Prov. 11: 17).

Be merciful and forgive our enemies.  Forgiving a person means that we will not harbour a grudge in our heart.  It means that we will not relate the offence to others.  Repeating the faults of an absent person hardens our own heart and we “troubleth” our own flesh.

If we are not willing to forgive, our bitterness will “eat us up” – we become our own tormentors.  One writer says:  “It is not what other people do to us that harms us – it is our own reaction to that hurt/injury.  No one can really harm us but ourselves.  They may falsely accuse us, and thus reflect upon our name.  They may even do you bodily harm, but none of these things can really injure you unless you permit them to goad you into growing bitter and resentful, and into an attempt at getting even or at revenge.” 

“Every gracious disposition is increased while a man is exercised in showing mercy.  No man can show an act of disinterested mercy without benefiting his own soul, by improving his moral feeling.  But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh - We seldom see a peevish, fretful, vindictive man either in good health, or good plight of body.  I have often heard it observed of such, ‘He frets his flesh off his bones’” – Adam Clark’s commentary.

Yes, it is our wrong response to an injury that harms us most.  If we allow ourselves to be embittered by others’ actions/reactions, we are actually allowing them to control our lives.  The circumstances and situations which confront us are usually beyond our control; we can do nothing about them.  But with the help of God, we can control our reactions.  We can choose to love and to forgive or we can choose to be angry and to harbour bitter feelings in our heart.  If we choose the latter, the result will be an attitude of anger, frustration and rebellion toward people and God. 

Brethren, let us not ensnare ourselves; do “good to our soul” by forgiving our enemies.  When we are willing to forgive, the Lord brings healing to our soul and frees us from a bitter, vengeful spirit.  Moreover, the Lord will be able to use us as His instruments of blessing to all around us.  (… to be continued)               

 - Pastor