14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. c Do not be conceited.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” d says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” e
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12)
Thoughts: There are two kinds of evil noted here. The evil outside the church that persecutes those on the inside; then the evil inside the church that divides the church. The basic message is to not treat people as they deserve. Instead of a never ending "eye for an eye" (until everyone is blind), there is a stop to the ongoing retaliation and revenge. Instead of revenge, we are called to peace.
In our day of civil unrest, the only way to stop this from igniting like gas into a terrible struggle is for someone to be the "bigger man" and treat people with mercy instead of simple justice.
But there is inferred here another evil- evil inside the church. This evil divides us from one another. We think our opinion is the best and we cannot listen to anyone else. Thus Paul admonishes us to "live in harmony with one another." In our consumer culture- it is easier to leave each other in schism than to do the hard work of reconciliation, living in harmony, and forgiving seventy times seven. We too often think of theological evil without thinking of the evil devoid of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love.
In both cases- we should not be overcome by the evil of another. So we do not give up the faith or give up the church. Instead we overcome evil with good.
In our day of civil unrest, the only way to stop this from igniting like gas into a terrible struggle is for someone to be the "bigger man" and treat people with mercy instead of simple justice.
But there is inferred here another evil- evil inside the church. This evil divides us from one another. We think our opinion is the best and we cannot listen to anyone else. Thus Paul admonishes us to "live in harmony with one another." In our consumer culture- it is easier to leave each other in schism than to do the hard work of reconciliation, living in harmony, and forgiving seventy times seven. We too often think of theological evil without thinking of the evil devoid of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love.
In both cases- we should not be overcome by the evil of another. So we do not give up the faith or give up the church. Instead we overcome evil with good.
Prayer: Lord, help me to treat others- not as they deserve, but as you treat me. Give me grace, mercy, adn hope in my relationships with others.
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