Taking Vengeance with a Spiteful Heart

 When others hurt us, our first reaction many times is to hurt them back. Our flesh wants to get even with them. Our human nature tells us that is only fair. However, it doesn't work that way with God. He knows that we are not capable of taking vengeance in the right way, so He reserves that right for Himself. He wants us to love everyone, even those who hurt us and hate us.

The Philistines were the enemies of the people of God for a long time. When Babylon came to destroy Jerusalem, the Philistines took advantage of the situation  and attacked the people of God, too. (Ezekiel 25:15,16) God told them that because they had dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart because of old hatred, He was going to stretch out His hand against the Philistines and cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. That is what God does to everyone who acts in that way.

We should never glory in the misfortune of others. Even when we have someone who is against us, we must not be against them and be happy when they fall into difficulties. We must guard against having a spiteful heart that just wants to get back at those who want to harm us. Like Jesus said more than once, we are to love our enemies and pray for them, even give them something to eat to show them we do not have a spiteful heart. 

A lot of times we feel like we need to take vengeance because we have harbored "old hatred." That is a terrible thing to do, because old hatred turns into bitterness. Bitterness grows and grows in our heart, and it doesn't just affect our relationship with that person, it sours our ability to relate to others as well. We must uproot the bitterness, as it says in Hebrews, and we must throw it away. Then, we can love as Jesus loves, and people will see that we don't hold anything against them, no matter what they have done to us.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 27-29.