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Don’t Take Revenge
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Leviticus 19:17,18 You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbour, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD. (ESV)
Listen to the radio broadcast of Don’t Take Revenge
Download audio fileIn a moment of anger, in that place of complete disbelief at the utter injustice of how badly someone’s just treated you, the idea of revenge appears so sweet.
Conflict is a fact of life. It happens in families. It happens in communities –how often have there been boundary disputes between neighbours?! It happens at work, in churches … it happens everywhere. People see things differently, boom, conflict. One person wrongs another, boom, conflict.
And as I said, in that moment the notion of revenge is so incredibly sweet. Yesterday we chatted about Jesus’ command for us to forgive those who wrong us:
Luke 17:3 If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (ESV)
Today, let’s hear God to speak into this space of conflict yet again:
Leviticus 19:17,18 You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbour, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD. (ESV)
Hatred’s out – that goes without saying. And by all means reason frankly with those with whom you’re in conflict. But no matter what the issue, you shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge, one being as bad as the other. But instead, in that moment when the temptation to take revenge grips your very soul (are you ready?) … you shall love your neighbour as yourself.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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