Romans 12:17-21
Never pay back evil for
evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honest clear
through. Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as
much as possible.
Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave
that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it.
Don’t take the law into your own hands. Instead, feed your enemy if he
is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be
“heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel
ashamed of himself for what he has done to you. Don’t let evil get the
upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of TyndalePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All
rights reserved.
Yesterday, Timothy’s Sunday school
lesson was about Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Before he even left the door
of his classroom, he was already telling us all about them…and sharing
the lesson that he had been given - to stop and consider the
consequences before acting or speaking. As we drove to Burger King, he
said, “The other day, I socked my mom in the arm. I tried to
apologize…but it was too late.”(his voice sadly trailed off here!)
Timothy apparently lost his prized stuff animals for the rest of the day
as a punishment. I told him…”It sounds like you learned a good
lesson.” He replied, “Yes…I need to think about the consequences before I
do things.”
Someone shared an unkind post about our President
this morning that I will not repeat here. However, right after that,
this same person shared something that I had just posted… "We do not
draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by
telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing
them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to
know the source of it. - Madeleine L'Engle".
I’ve shared
this quote before, but I found it ironic that this person could not see
the “disconnect” between the ugly thing that was shared and these
thoughts. And I’ll admit…I was tempted to point out the skewed
thinking! Thankfully, I am beginning to take the message of this
scripture passage to heart, so I stopped to think about the consequences
of my response and checked myself!
Madeleine L’Engle was
right…sometimes our words and actions completely discredit our faith in
God and our overall Christian witness. Who in their right mind would
want to worship a God that ordained snide criticism, ugly name calling
and unloving words and actions? How can we expect unbelievers – and
those who are doubtful – to accept that God loves ALL of us, when we are
so unkind and disparaging toward any among us?
I’ll be honest…I
have to really work to check my thoughts, words and actions toward many
these days. But I MUST…and so must you! Timothy was totally blown away
that Cain would kill “his only BROTHER!” He said, “Debbie…that was
just not good!” He went into great detail about how Cain wore a red
mark to set him apart…but also to indicate to others not to harm him. I
told Timothy that I needed to get out my Bible and read that part of
the story again, and he said…”You should read the WHOLE story!”
So
I did! And we all should spend more time reading these stories and
reminding ourselves that “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no
matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Likewise, when we do something TO another “brother” or “sister,” we do
it TO Jesus. We must check our thoughts, words, and actions...think about
the consequences…and consider how our “Christian witness” lines up with
His teachings.
Timothy’s class created a little stoplight
doorknob hanger to remind them to “stop, think about the consequences, and
then go.” Consider this message to be your own “sign”…and take to heart
the thoughts shared here. Conquer evil by doing good, and let God
handle the rest. Draw people to Christ as much by what you DON’T say
and do as what is expressed…and see what amazing things God can do with
your efforts.
©2015 Debbie Robus
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