Our text for today is Romans 12:19-20
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 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.”
May God bless the reading of his word.
What do you do when life isn’t treating you fairly? Sometimes it is because it is someone who is treating your unfairly. Anger and then bitterness are often the emotions we experience after feeling mistreated. This is especially valid if we’re not happy with how things turn out.
The offending party may refuse to acknowledge their error or even lay the blame on you. If you’re a Christian, you already know that God expects you to forgive the person or individuals who hurt you or mistreated you in accordance with His Word. When that happens, our soul cries out, “It isn’t fair!”
I’m not going to debate what is or isn’t fair. I can only say that a lot of things in life are unfair, but fortunately we worship and serve a God who values fairness. It means that if we follow Him, He will make things right in due course.
It may seem unreasonable to demand us to forgive someone who has wronged us even if they won’t repent or accept responsibility for their actions, but God commands us to do just that. Why? Because when we forgive, we are actually doing ourselves a favor rather than our enemies.
We are tortured as long as we harbor grudges, rage, and bitterness. Until we let go of the problem and trust God to make things right, we are actually letting the person who wounded us to continue hurting us. If you have anything against somebody, just forgive it, let it go. This is a gift you give yourself.
Lonnie Davis