“Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips. A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool's wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; But who is able to stand before envy? Open rebuke is better Than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”
Proverbs 27:1-7 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.27.1-7.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 ...