*Text: Rom. 12: 20-21*
“Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”
The hunger for revenge is great whenever we have been hurt by someone. There is always that strong urge to want to hurt the person back. Our text this morning describes such attitude as evil and warns us against it.
The world we live in is a wicked world, where people actually delight in doing evil. It is a world where people hurt their fellow human being without feeling any remorse or guilt. Some are so established in wickedness that they don’t even count their action as wickedness. As a result of these alarming level of wickedness in the world, many have been hurt and many are hurting presently due to acts of wickedness meted out to them. And so there is a strong urge for revenge whenever the opportunity presents itself. Many in the world believe that revenge is sweet and will gladly welcome the day when they will have the opportunity to revenge the wicked acts done to them in the past.
For us as Christians however we are not to retaliate or revenge wicked acts done to us, rather when the opportunity presents itself we are to show love and kindness to persons who have acted wickedly towards us, by so doing, according to our text, we are using good to overcome evil. This admonition no doubt is easier said than done because when people hurt us, the natural reaction is to want to hurt them back when we get the chance, but when we do that then we are no different from the people of the world and we are no different also from these people who hurt us in the first place. When we avenge wickedness done to us we prove that we are no different from those who acted wickedly towards us, that is, we also are wicked as well and this certainly does not speak well of us as followers of Christ.
Secondly our text reveals to us that contrary to what the devil has deceived many to believe, we are not helpless against the tendency to do evil, we have a choice in the matter and we can choose not to. When the bible says “ Do not ……”, the implication is that we have the power to allow or not to allow, we have the power to succumb to the pressure to do evil and we also have the power not to succumb, the choice is ours to make. This is true not only in the case of vengeance but in all other cases when we are tempted to act contrary to God’s word. We have a choice we are not helpless, no one should therefore put up the defence that he was helpless as an excuse for wrongs or wicked acts committed.
Are you under pressure to revenge a wicked act done to you? Are you presently being tempted to walk the path of evil, remember you have a choice, you can say “No” and you can choose instead to walk in love and in obedience to God’s word. When you do so, you have overcome evil with good and heaven will be proud of you. Shalom
Prayer Points
1. Father you are a forgiving God, thank you for forgiving me, thank you for not counting my wrong against me.
2. Father please teach me to learn to forgive others for wrong done to me even when I think that they do not deserve to be forgiven
3. Father may the thirst or desire in me for vengeance die permanently in Jesus name
4. Father I am not helpless, I can say “No” to the tendency to do evil, help me O Lord always to stand against and to resist any temptation to carry out evil in Jesus name.
5. Lord I turn permanently away from the path of evil and choose to walk the path of love and obedience to your word in Jesus name.
As Christians we shouldn't pay evil deeds with evil but rather pay evil with good. When your enemies came to ask for something to eat, we should endeavour to give them without considering the fact that they are our enemy. We should always forgive ride who offended us and move on.