Not Ours to Give
“How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who has said, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” – Hebrews 10:29-31
When I was in high school, someone from another team started a vicious rumor about one of my teammates. This rumor was hurtful and not easily forgotten by our school. It caused my friend a lot of pain, heartache and anger in relationships.
When someone you love is hurt, your instinct is to find a way to hurt the person that hurt them. Our sinful hearts believe that evil for evil will equal good. It takes a lot of restraint to not sink to the sinful level of the other and commit the same or worse sin on them.
My mother often said, “Revenge is for the Lord.” For a long time, I thought it was just another one of my mother’s sayings, but as I grew up, I realized she was quoting from Hebrews 10. The Lord reminds us that vengeance, or payback, belongs to Him. It is not our job to seek out the person who has hurt our friend and do to them as we see fit. Our job is to comfort and support our friends, stand up for them with honor and strength, and not take evil action toward the ones responsible.
God calls us to help our needy friends, to be strong when others are weak, and to stand up for what is right. He does not call us to sink to the evil level of the oppressor and become that evil ourselves. He reminds us that He has the job of deciding the punishment for others’ sins, not us.
Be there for your people when they’re hurting and stand firm in righteousness, but do not take God’s job into your own hands.
- Do you genuinely feel better after hurting someone?
- How can you help your friends that have been wronged?
- Do you trust God to give correct justice?
“Lord God, we know You will give fair and honest judgment over all people. If we seek vengeance, we will be influenced by our emotions and anger. You are the one who gives judgment, not us. Give us strength to not seek vengeance but give us the strength to wait on You when evil comes our way. Amen.”
