“It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, And after vows to make enquiry. A wise king scattereth the wicked, And bringeth the wheel over them. The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, Searching all the inward parts of the belly. Mercy and truth preserve the king: And his throne is upholden by mercy. The glory of young men is their strength: And the beauty of old men is the grey head. The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: So do stripes the inward parts of the belly.”
Proverbs 20:25-30 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.20.25-30.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 ...