Revenge
by Brent Nidiffer and Jamie Shell
In the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, a middle-aged woman, driving a big, new, expensive car was was waiting to pull into a long awaited parking space, when suddenly, a young girl in a small sports car zoomed in ahead of her. The woman angrily asked why she had done that when she could tell she was trying to park there. The young woman's response was, "Face it lady, we're younger and faster!"
The young woman then entered the store. When he came back out a few minutes later, she found the older woman using her big new car as a battering ram, backing up, and repeatedly ramming her little car. The young woman very angrily asked her why she was wrecking her precious sports car. The older woman's response? "Face it, I'm older and I have more insurance!"
Often in life we take pleasure in exacting revenge when we have been wronged by someone. "Nothing is quite as sweet as getting even," one saying goes. But as the legendary fueds of the Hatfields and McCoys, and the Capulets and the Montaigues remind us, revenge only ups the ante and leads to unforeseen and bitter heartbreaks.
God tells us, however, that we should be loving those individuals rather than lashing out in hatred and vengeance. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus says, "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." While this may not make sense in human wisdom, our character under fire is often God's way of giving us an opportunity to share his grace with someone who needs it most. (Read the book of 1 Peter about this way of life!)
Our lives are representative of the love of Christ. So when revenge is in our heart and displayed in our actions, what does that say about our faith in a Lord who died for our sins and our love for those who are lost and have not received his grace?
Posted: 05/25/2001
URL: http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200105/20010525_revenge.htmlCopyright (c) 2001, Timely Truths Ministries. Used by permission.
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