Romans 12:19, "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Have you ever been wronged? Treated unfairly? Used and abused? Join the club. No person on earth has not experienced the hurt of another person or persons. Sadly we as human beings have a fallen, sinful nature. And that sinful nature is far to often directed at other people in our lives, or at us by the people we know. When this happens our inner nature cries out for justice, and often revenge. The world tells us that "revenge is a dish best served cold." But if we claim to be a Christian we are held to a far higher standard by our heavenly Father. And how we react to an injustice in our lives is a key indicator as to how closely we are walking with God.
The Example of Joseph
In the book of Genesis we encounter Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel. Joseph was the favorite son of the patriarch and his wife, and as a result of the favor shown Joseph he was despised by his 10 older brothers.
At first they wanted to kill him, but the oldest brother Reuben stopped that. They compromised and faked Joseph's death and sold him into slavery. Joseph winds up in Egypt in the service of Potiphar, but Potiphar's wife desires Joseph, and when rebuked in her advances falsely accuses Joseph violating her, and Joseph is wrongly imprisoned. While in prison Joseph encounters Pharaoh's former butler an baker. They have both had dreams and Jacob through God interprets their dreams. The baker is to die, but the butler exonerated. The butler tells Joseph he will remember him to Pharaoh, but when released from prison promptly forgets him, and Joseph remains incarcerated. If anyone has ever had a right to want, demand and seek vengeance for the injustice done to him, it was Joseph.
But Joseph walked with God. He did not return evil for evil. Joseph is patient and seeks God and is totally exonerated and elevated to a place of great power in the government of Pharaoh. Later, during a famine that Joseph had prepared the people for, Jacob's family unknowingly comes to him, and Joseph's chance for vengeance on the original perpetrators is presented to him. How does Joseph react? He reacts in love for his family, loving the unlovable, and in time he is proven just by God, and becomes the savior from famine for the whole known world, and his family. Joseph's life is summarized in Genesis 50:20, "But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."
God's Way
So how are we to deal with those who have wronged us? Romans 12:20-21 tells us, "Therefore, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Joseph in the Old Testament is one of the most exact and poignant pictures of Jesus Christ in the bible. We are all sinners, and in God's economy all sin is against Him, so we have all wronged Him. But instead of seeking immediate vengeance against us, God in His mercy, grace and goodness sent His Son Jesus to this sinful world to provide eternal forgiveness and life for all who will come to Him. And we are to treat those who have wronged us with the same mercy, grace and love God has shown us. That's not an easy thing to do, as the hurt and pain from being wronged is real. But that pain we suffer with is nothing compared to the pain of Jesus as he hung on the cross for us to have the opportunity to be made right with God, in spite of our evil ways.
While the "natural man" inside of us may yearn for immediate justice and even vengeance, we must cede that judgment to God. We live in a world filled with injustice, but we must understand, that until Jesus returns to establish His righteous kingdom, injustice will prevail many times in this sinful world. Those who wrong others may seem to get away with their evil deeds, and may never meet justice here. But one day they will stand before a holy God and will answer for their crimes against God, and us. God says, "Vengeance is Mine." We must let Him work out His plan for justice. Our duty is to pray for and love the one's who have wronged us. If we are to view them, as God viewed us when He sent Jesus, it is the only thing we can do. God's hope for us was to seek forgiveness and repent of our sin, and that must be our hope for our enemies. God will judge eventually, in perfect justice. But His desire is, and ours should be, restoration of the one who has sinned. Not judgment and revenge.
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