Creative gifting is so fun, and God can use us to produce some really innovative and cool stuff, but we have to work really hard sometimes to stay focused!
Why Sweet Revenge Is Actually Bitter
By: Danni Synot
Any other space cadets out there? Creative dreamers? Ally McBeals?
With me, my imagination was pretty evident early on …My school report cards often expressed the same sentiments, one even said: “Dannielle is easily distracted…If Dannielle only applied herself.” My imagination served me well, surviving math classes, usually by staring out the window at the clouds, just long enough for them to float me right out of my chair past the teacher, above the school and up into the sky, bouncing myself from one soft marshmallow cloud to another.
Escaping a boring math class is one thing, but a good imagination to rehearse payback scenarios is a whole other ball game!
Some people have even been known to actually play out their imaginings. I heard of a story once where the bible verse “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” really came to life. A woman creatively devised a plan to get revenge on her cheating husband, who had left her and moved in with his girlfriend.
After finding out they were away on holidays for a few weeks, she broke into their new house, and sprinkled grass seeds over all the carpet. After she was done with that, she opened the windows, to let the sunlight in while she poked the garden hose through to help the seeds begin germinating in carpet. The cheating husband and his girlfriend came back from their holidays to find that a full on lawn had grown in their house!
I guess that probably isn’t the best use of our creative God–given talents, but let’s be honest, sometimes we just want to hurt those who have hurt us. We want them to feel the pain we’re experiencing, we want to make the pain stop. We want justice.
Unfortunately revenge, while it feels good in a fleeting moment, ultimately leaves us feeling even more empty and angry than before and brings us under guilt for the sin we’ve now committed against the one who hurt us. Revenge only adds fuel to Satan’s fire and evil cannot be overcome with evil. Which is why God tries to keep us safe, as the bible says that vengeance belongs to God.
God gives us some awesome advice in the book of Romans, when He says:
18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men. 19 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:18-21
Why is this such great advice? Because it keeps us safe and grants us freedom. God is saying to us that He wants us to have peace and be peacemakers, and in order for us to do that He promises us that He will personally deal with those who have wronged us, so we can leave it with Him and hold on to our peace. He will fight the battle, and we can stay under His protection.
Let’s face it, God can bring justice in ways we could never imagine, and His nature means that He always does that with love, peace and reconciliation as His goal. If fact, He also gives us the same ministry as Jesus – The ministry of reconciliation. He reminds us to, as far as possible, live peacefully and do what we can then leave the rest to Him.
God’s way is always guided by love, and He asks us to do the one thing that seems foreign to our human tendencies, which is to do good to those who harm or mistreat us, practical things that meet their needs. He says that by doing this we “heap coals of fire on his head.” It’s really hard to hate someone who looks after you and does good to you.
In fact, if someone you have done wrong by, treats you well continually, you will probably feel guilty and your heart will soften toward them.
This is what the bible means when it says:
“Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”. Romans 12:18-21 (WEB)
Article supplied with thanks to Brave Enough Media.
About the Author: Danni is a tv and radio presenter and the Founder and CEO of Brave Enough. It is her passion to encourage people to be brave enough to heal and find hope and freedom in the love of Jesus.
Feature image: Photo by Almos Bechtold on Unsplash
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