Is Vengeance and Revenge Really Worth It?

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
    I will pay them back,”
    says the Lord.

Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
    burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Romans 12:17-21

"Oh you're going to PAY for that one!" 

"I'm going to see to it that you regret this for the rest of your life!"

We see it every single day. We want revenge!  We want vengeance! If someone hurts us or someone we care about, we want them to pay and pay dearly!  That's our human nature. We aren't about to let any slight pass. 

Remember Jesus' teachings? He taught that we need to go against our human nature.  He taught that we need to LOVE and FORGIVE just as we want to be loved and forgiven. Does that mean the one who hurt us will get away without having to pay?  Do YOU want to have to pay when you hurt someone? 

Yes, it is EXTREMELY difficult in the heat of the moment to show love, kindness, and forgiveness.  Paul stresses that we should not let our evil nature be in control! We are to conquer our evil nature by doing good, especially to the person who hurt us.  It takes a LOT of prayer, practice and patience, but following God's instructions will help us keep our eyes on Him!