“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Romans 12:14-18 ESV
The above scripture from Paul reminds us of the importance and sometimes the difficulty that we have giving good gifts. Too often we listen to the wrong influence and want to repay one hurt with another. Jesus reminds us from Luke 11 to make sure that we are giving gifts that are life giving and a blessing instead of giving curses. It is difficult when you feel like you have been hurt, the pain, shame, at times it can be overwhelming. One of the gifts that God gives is that we do not need to get even. Vengeance is not ours to take. God gives the gift of justice so that we do not need to stoop to evil’s level.
Timothy Keller points out that when we use what is evil to do what we think is good, evil still wins because we become that which we knew was evil. God does not want us to become evil. The blessing of God is that we might all experience His transforming grace which frees us from the treachery of evil. When we trust in God’s justice, it is not trusting in God to get even for us, it is trusting that God can handle that which we cannot without defiling Himself or anyone else. God’s justice is not rooted in getting even, it is rooted in reconciliation. If this were not the case, we would have no hope. Remember we have all fallen short of the glory of God. The gift of God is not just the freedom from sin but Jesus dealing with sin itself , not just the personal sin but also the sin that has corrupted and broken the world around us. With this freedom we have the blessing to work for a world that is made in God’s image of love, of grace, of forgiveness, and of justice.