Revenge

Romans 12:17-21
17  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Have you ever been hurt by someone? Maybe they stole something from you or spread rumors about you. Maybe they betrayed your trust or cheated you somehow. Maybe they even hurt you physically in some way. When these things happen, it’s human nature to want to get even; however, in verse 19 we see that vengeance belongs to God, not us. God instructs us in verse 20, and in many other passages, that we are to be kind to our enemies regardless of how they treat us. We are also warned in various passages to avoid idolatry, which is putting anything or anyone else in the place of God, even ourselves.

Isaiah 14:12-14
12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Lucifer was kicked out of Heaven because he tried to put himself in the place of God.  When we take it upon ourselves to get revenge on someone, we are putting ourselves in the place of God. We shouldn’t pattern our behavior after Satan. He has been trying ever since he fell to get revenge on God by destroying as many people as he can. He can’t touch God, so he attacks the ones God created in His image instead. We should pattern our behavior after God. Even in man’s fallen state, God still loved us enough that He gave His Son to die in our place. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us, even though we rebelled against Him.

 Ephesians 4:31-5:2
4:31  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.