Seeking Revenge

 There are some things that are just embedded in our flesh. They come out so quickly that it is almost impossible to stop them. One of those things is getting angry when someone hurts us. It is an almost automatic response. Another one of these things is seeking revenge. When someone hurts us, we want to retaliate in some way to hurt them. The Lord wants to give us the power of the Holy Spirit to stop both of these fleshly responses and do the right thing instead.

It is clear in the Bible that God is against any individual or country that takes vengeance on another person or country. (Ezekiel 25:12,13) The Lord told the country of Edom that since they had acted in vengeance against Judah, they were guilty, and He was going to reach out with His hand and eliminate human and animal life from their entire country, turning it into ruins. This shows us how God reacts when He sees us take vengeance on others. 

It may seem wrong to us that God would take vengeance Himself when He forbids us from doing it. However, the reason that vengeance belongs to the Lord is that He is all-knowing and just, so He is the only one who can take vengeance in a righteous way. That is one reason God forbids us from taking vengeance ourselves.

The other reason that seeking revenge is a sin is that we are doing the same sinful thing the other person did to us. Two wrongs don't make a right. Therefore, to stop the anger and the seeking revenge, we need to decide they are wrong and ask God to give us His love for others. Then, we will not want to hurt them, but pray for them and help them. That is how it is possible not to get angry and seek revenge automatically.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 26-28.