“Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, Than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. The foolishness of man perverteth his way: And his heart fretteth against the LORD. Wealth maketh many friends; But the poor is separated from his neighbour. A false witness shall not be unpunished, And he that speaketh lies shall not escape. Many will intreat the favour of the prince: And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. All the brethren of the poor do hate him: How much more do his friends go far from him? He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.”
Proverbs 19:1-7 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.19.1-7.KJV
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...