Soul Food

When someone offends you, it is not an “unnatural” instinct to desire some kind of “payback,” or what we might rather say in Christianese … “justice served” for our offenders.  Certainly it depends upon the degree of the offense and the personal grid through which we filter it.

Following Godly example … God tells us to forgive and forgive and to keep on forgiving until “seventy-times seven” (490), which we know is something that God offers and has done for us exponentially throughout out all existence of human-kind.    But perhaps, (and it is so) we are more inclined to take “justice” out of God’s hands and into our own, and do God’s “justice work” for Him.  

But is that His directive to us? 

^{Romans 12: 19} Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[a] says the Lord.

This verse alone tells me that “revenge” is a heavy load of baggage that I don’t have to tote around.  Just like “controlling my life,” He has proven over and over so many times, the He is so much better at it than me, and when I try to take too much out of His hands … we end up with a real big mess.

So trusting God with all matters of justice seems to be the best route, but it takes a great deal of trust and even more patience.

^{Deuteronomy 32:35} 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.”

It also takes SELF DISCIPLINE!

Even if we, as rational people don’t actually carry out a vengeful act, most us are prone to at least think, “I can’t wait until “so and so” gets theirs.” Or, what’s the cliché we often hear???   Paybacks are hell and we eagerly await the day for “turnabout to have some fair play.”

I am reminded of the story of David and King Saul in the cave.  Let’s take a look at that story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POVRsKYzs8g

The Lord was happy with the way David treated Saul that day!

David practiced great self-discipline. He did not take vengeance against Saul, even though the King had been chasing him and trying to kill him for a long, long time. 

King Saul does die in 1 Samuel 31, and then in 2 Samuel 1, we discover David’s reaction when he learns of Saul’s death.  He is greatly grieved and leads the nation in lament over the death of Saul and his son, Jonathan.

2 Samuel 1:19 “A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen!

In David’s obvious poetic style, he honors Saul with beautiful words … even after all the offenses Saul made against him. He certainly did not relish in Saul’s demise.  Knowing David and the other ways of “people-ness” that he demonstrated in his life, this regard for Saul and honoring God’s anointed (as is described in 2 Samuel 1), exemplifies some of what God saw in the “heart of [this] man.”

Sometimes … we’re too quick to become “self-righteous” in our Christian-dom.  Sometimes we forget as we impose judgment and “justice” upon others, that “but for God’s grace” — “there go I.” 

When we are considering all that’s involved in forgiveness and getting past offenses, there will be some “boundaries” that must be set and there should be some accountability in such matters. Such situations beg for tremendous discernment to understand our roles as human beings … and the Divine Role of our “just” and loving God. 

As noted in Romans, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  Perhaps the greatest measure of a “superhero” is knowing his/her own place in the role of justice.