“Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.””
Romans 12:19-20 NLT
Paul follows on from his previous theme of not responding to evil with more evil. He warns his readers that they should never take revenge, instead leaving room for God to deal with the perpetrators of evil. It should be noted that God will get angry with them, as He does with all sinners. And He has promised to deal with these evildoers.
Paul quoted two Scriptures in the verses from Romans 12 . The first is from Deuteronomy 32:34-35, “The Lord says, ‘Am I not storing up these things, sealing them away in my treasury? I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them’”. God may not deal with those who commit evil acts straight away, even though we might want Him to, but He has promised to take a careful note and put it somewhere safe in His “treasury”. There is no escape for those who commit evil acts, because one day they will have to account for their behaviour. No deed ever committed will go unpunished. So that crime committed against an old lady, for example, that roused such indignation in the community, will catch up with the perpetrator one day. The books being stored in God’s “treasury” will one day be opened and the video of what really happened will be replayed before everyone. Imagine the shame! But, worse, will come the verdict – Guilty!
Some people struggle with the thought that God gets angry. Well, Jesus did. Not often but we read in Mark 3:5, “He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored”. Jesus was angry with the irrational and misguided responses of the Pharisees in the synagogue, but note that, although He had the power to zap them on the spot, He moved on and healed a man with a withered hand. Those Pharisees were in for trouble, because God made a note of their evil response to His Son. Jesus was angry, yet in His anger He didn’t sin.
The second Old Testament Paul quoted came from Provers 25:21-22, “If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the Lord will reward you”. How does that work? In God’s Kingdom, there are a different set of rules applying. Whereas in our earthly kingdoms, our enemies will be locked up, and their malevolent intentions suppressed, in God’s Kingdom, we citizens treat our enemies with respect and compassion. We provide them with the basics of life, food and water, and show them kindness when none is deserved. That’s hard! It goes against everything we feel inside. But that is what God has asked us to do. Imagine a world where every evil act received such a kind, loving and compassionate response. There wouldn’t be much evil remaining for long.
There is a battle raging against Christians in the West, around the gender ideologies. And the proponents of this evil want to close the churches who resist their wayward demands, demands that are in direct conflict with what the Bible says. We could join or organise the marches, the rallies, and write angry banners, or we could pray for them with compassion for their confusion. We gently make our views known to our politicians, expounding the love that we have. And as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:8b, “ … for love covers a multitude of sins”. I know that this verse was meant for Christians, but the principle remains.
Paul wrote that there was a partnership between God and His followers. We respond to evil well and without sin. He will bring the punishment on those who sin against us. That is God’s way, and, by following it, we will truly conquer the evil that is so prevalent in our communities and nations. Small steps accumulate. Short prayers are answered. And we pilgrims will one day experience the reward promised us.
Dear God. You promised to deal with evildoers. That takes a lot of pressure from us, because we don’t have to. Thank You. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 