1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

The impulse for payback, for revenge, is very strong in most people. Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount gets a lot of push-back and even ridicule for precisely this reason. Here, Peter makes it clear that there is actually a lot of self-interest in forgiving! Jesus repeatedly said that how we deal with others is how we will be dealt with. That’s the basis for the Golden Rule. All that said, this isn’t something we do naturally. We need to realize that since, as Peter says here, we were called to receive or inherit blessing, we should be agents of blessing and not payback. There are a lot of videos on YouTube about revenge, some based on real stories and many pure fiction, and people eat them up because they feel good to our flesh. In contrast, Jesus submitted to absolute degradation, culminating in crucifixion, in order to purchase our salvation. The better we understand that, the better we are able to follow His example. This doesn’t mean we are to be doormats, never standing up for ourselves, but it does mean we are to trust God, even when it hurts. Even through Moses, God said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.” (Deuteronomy 32:35) We are to focus on speaking the truth in love, leaving the consequences up to Him.

I won’t say I don’t have the impulse for revenge, but by God’s grace I am pretty forgiving. That has served me well! I honestly think I have very few human enemies, though I am aware the devil hates me wholeheartedly. I am not to let him, or those he has deceived, distract me from following the example of my Lord and allowing His grace to flow through me. I have actually been told that someone doesn’t serve forgiveness. That may well be true, but neither do I! I need to remember, and act on, one of the most severe things Jesus said: “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15) I am not to recite the Lord’s Prayer, that comes just before that, and fail to forgive others. I have too much for which I need to be forgiven!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for pointing out that I need to be careful what I feed my emotions. May I be an instrument of Your grace and love toward all I encounter, so that I too may enjoy the blessings You intend for me. Thank You. Praise God!