Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 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,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Rom. 12:17- 13:6
As a Tennessee Vols fan, over the years there have been a handful of games that have been decided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Just when you thought you were going to get the ball back because you stopped them on third down, your defender pushes, punches, makes a hit out of bounds and it's game over. The coach and the fans don't care that the ref didn't see the first hit or that he was trying to stick his finger in your eye, all that matters is you retaliated, got caught, and cost us the game. Paul says, this is what happens when you return evil for evil. No matter how justified you might think you are, you are the one that always looks bad.
There are people that are allowed to meet out justice, which can look evil, but those are people who God has granted authority to - like police, the King, even Church leaders who might excommunicate. God, who judges the Earth is the ultimate dealer of dire consequences. That's why people accuse Him of being evil and not merciful because He is the separator of the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the fish in the nets. God is just and always right. He sees the first blow, so we don't have to give the second blow. He doesn't miss anything.
You should be glad God is a judge. Because of that, we don't have to go through life defending our honor but love and forgive people like Jesus did. Otherwise, you go through life like Donald Trump getting even with everyone who has come up against him, hating his enemies rather than forgiving them like Charlie Kirk's wife. Which one do you want to be like? As much as I have appreciated how Trump has stood for the unborn, brought rationality to the gender issues, stood for suffering Christians in Nigeria, been a friend to the Jews, tried to bring peace to warring nations, his personal rhetoric has brought division to our nation worse than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. You might say, "But isn't he the authority you just mentioned?" and you would be somewhat right. He does deserve deference because of his position, and he does "wield the sword".
Here's the problem as I see it. Have you ever seen a team take on the personality of the coach? It happens all the time. The USA has a "coach", an authority figure over us who belittles people he doesn't like, dismissing them, degrading them, making up derogatory nicknames so our country does the same thing. If anyone disagrees with him, he marginalizes them and calls them stupid, and the left and the right do that to each other. Authorities still need to live lives under the authority of God and His rules for personal conduct, but Trump acts like he is the ultimate authority, and this is where he fails and he is failing us.
Lest we pick on him and deflect the message God is giving to us, may we not be accused of hateful, vengeful, angry, plotting behavior, but rather be accused of love, forgiveness, meekness, humility, being good citizens submitting to those placed in authority above us. Let God defend you against injustices, and there will be many. He will, maybe not in this life but for sure in the life to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment