Personal revenge is sin, too

“It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
Deuteronomy 32:35

Justice doesn’t always come swiftly. It doesn’t always come the way we wish that it would. And sometimes, in this life, justice doesn’t seem to come at all. Does that mean the offender gets off, scott-free? I don’t think so. It simply means that we need to let God deal with the offender, while we care for the victim. So often I hear of situations where there is a sin or a crime committed against another person, and the guilty one appears to receive nothing for his offense. Many times it is Christians who are the first to begin the murmuring. “Why don’t they DO something about it? Why don’t they just do (such and such) ?” Then the irritation, or even anger can begin. “If it were me, I would…!”

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37

We can so easily be outside of a situation, or even on the outskirts of it, and feel so free to judge and convict. We give the devil a foothold in our own lives, allowing sin within ourselves, when the sin we are so irked about doesn’t even belong to us. Murmuring begins. Vengeful thoughts and nasty gossip ensue. When all along the one in control—the Judge, Jury, and Convictor—is awaiting the time to bring down His justice. Our justice cannot even come close to His holy conviction! Our gossip becomes our sin, which by no means makes us any better than the sinner amongst us. It says in Ephesians 5:12 “For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” Our sin overshadows what the Lord would do in us, preventing us from even being helpful to the people involved.

In the midst of just such a situation, where my husband and I are helping someone who has been tragically victimized by another, even in our home we tend to have these attitudes. Attitudes of questioning why things aren’t moving ahead like we think they should, and of wondering why the guilty party doesn’t seem more repentant, or appear to have a punishment coming. We can so easily overlook the fact that God is GOD, that He is holy, and mighty, and in complete control over the way things are unfolding. That He placed us in this person’s life for a particular reason, and that it is not our place to be the judge or convictor. We must cling to our own faith, our Lord Jesus, and demonstrate His love to this person that he has brought into our lives when they needed us the most. That is all we are required to do. What we feel helpless about, may we turn and realize that as the grace of God has been extended to us, we must do the same.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

God will take care of the rest.

~ by Momma Knows on October 9, 2007.