Christian Living

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At what point do you throw in the towel? When life hits you hard, time and time again, no end in sight, when do you say, "Enough is enough!" and take matters into your own hands? God thunders from His Book, "Never!"

"Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord. I will repay!" Romans 12:19b

There was a heart-breaking story on television the other night about a man who had tried to do everything right, but the tide seemingly turned against him. A mechanical engineer who had worked at the same job for fifteen years, he had been told by his employer that because of downsizing, he was being let go. He vehemently protested that he had done a good job, that he had a family, a mortgage, responsibilities, etc., to no avail. At that moment a seed of bitterness seemed to take root in his heart. Later he lost his home, and his wife divorced him. A year or two after that his little girl had a health problem that could not be dealt with properly because of no health insurance, and she subsequently died. During these years the desire for vengeance really took root and grew.

He finally developed a small pipe bomb that would fit into a music box. He carefully planted the first bomb, and it cost his former employer the sight in his right eye. After that as time went on, his brother tried to help him, gave him money until he could give no more. Then he angrily planted a bomb to kill or maim his brother's wife and little daughter which was thankfully prevented by police action. He had gone mad with vengeance and rage. The seed planted nine years earlier had really borne fruit. He made the mistake of trying to pay back evil for evil as he saw it.

We are not qualified by nature, power or wisdom even to judge, let alone wreak punishment on people who wrong us. We are the creation, and so necessarily, we are less than the Creator. Sin in the world is the overall explanation of all the bad things that happen to us. It is a general enmity with God, the devil loose and incarnate on the planet. We all suffer because of it. The only choice we have is how to deal with it. When adversity befalls us and we respond with satanic tactics, we have contributed to and become part of the problem. When we strike back with vengeance, hatred and resentment, we sink to his level and contribute to a vicious circle that never ends.

A clearer and more productive perspective is that God gives and He takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Also, from the lips of long-suffering Job is the provocative and poignant question,

"Shall we accept good from His hands and not evil?"

So when terrible things happen, we have a very distinct choice in the manner of dealing with them. We can choose the devil's way of smoldering hate and planned retribution (which will eat away our own souls, keep us unhappy and in the end resolve nothing) or God's way which is prayer, forgiveness and getting on with our lives, knowing that He is in control. Persisting in the former destroys not only our health and happiness, but generally harms innocent people as well. Evil is then compounded and passed on.

God's way is forgiveness, and it's the only one that works. Retribution is His province, and He is well able to take care of it.

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