VENGEANCE IS MINE | Northstar Church

“Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.” – Romans 12:19.

What do you do when you’ve been insulted, slandered, or injured? Is your first instinct to seek revenge? The thought of revenge can be tempting and sweet. As strange as it sounds, when we take revenge, we typically make our lives more complicated. What we long for is perfect justice, and this can only be carried out by the righteous judge, God. We can take comfort in God’s promise: “ I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.” (Deuteronomy 32:35).

Paul is telling us in Romans that it is God’s job to repay. He is the great equalizer. It is God who works on our behalf. We don’t have to avenge ourselves when someone wrongs us. We don’t have to repay evil with evil. We can do our part and make an effort to foster peace in all our relationships. How? Why? Because God will right every wrong.

In 2 Kings 6, there is a great story about the King of Aram trying to kill Elisha because he kept tipping off the King of Israel about his plans. One day, the army arrived at Elisha’s home. The servant was scared, but Elisha knew the army of the Lord surrounded him. He prayed that the men might be blinded, and they were. He led them to the city, and the King of Israel wanted to put them to death. In verse 22, Elisha replied, “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.” Verse 23 adds, “So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel. Elisha showed kindness to those who sought to kill him. As a result, the people stayed away from Israel.

Charles Spurgeon wrote: “Brethren, the desire to return evil for evil does not succeed, because it injures us much more than it injures the person whom we seek to overcome. It has been said that the worst peace is better than the best war, and I believe almost anything is better than becoming angry. Scarcely any injury which we can ever sustain will so injure us as the injury which must arise to us from becoming angry and revengeful. Our enemies are not worth putting ourselves out about after all, and ten minutes of a palpitating heart, and of a disturbed circulation, causes us greater real damage in body than an enemy could inflict in seven years. Ten minutes of a fiery deluge overflowing the whole soul is a serious catastrophe, not to be often risked.”

It is impossible to go through this life without feeling that someone has wronged you. Because we are human, our instinct is to get back at that person and to “make it right.” But God wants more from us. He desires for each of us to have a heart filled with grace and to trust Him to enact justice.

Discussion Questions:

What is your initial, gut reaction when you feel wronged or offended? Do you desire to “get even”? Why or why not?
Can you recall a time when you were tempted to seek revenge? What held you back, or what were the consequences of acting on that desire?
Have you ever experienced someone extending forgiveness to you when you didn’t deserve it? How did that impact you?