Get Even

Whenever we are wronged, many of us, much of the time, have this desire to get even. We feel justified, even rightfully motivated, to wrong the wrongdoer in a perfectly measured and equal response. Many times, the wrongdoer did his wrong to you with the same motivation. The next thing you know, it's war. Or what we call estrangement. “I don’t talk to him or her anymore,” you might hear someone say, “They owe me an apology.”

Those of you in church last Sunday (video of sermon) might have heard me talk about this. We have been trained from early on to retaliate, fight back, hold our ground, and exact vengeance. And we feel righteous about it. It’s normal world behavior. Duty, even.

Then, on Sunday, we find ourselves in church, where we sit through a lesson on how this is the opposite of what Jesus teaches and of His behavior. Jesus is our example from God about how we are to think, feel, and do. Thankfully, this Sunday behavior of ours, showing up with our Bibles in hand to seek God, actually works. We allow God to change us. We become mature Christians, and we begin to see the world and all the people in it as God sees them. He loves them.

Holding back our love until we receive the apology we are owed is a sin.

Have you noticed how such a huge percentage of movies, books, TV shows, and even video games are all about exacting your due revenge on the bad guys, the wrongdoers, the evil ones? We are strongly drawn to this idea. Satan fans the flames of it.

Awake sleepers! Be aware of this snare of the enemy. This self-righteous mindset leads to angst, unhappiness, ruined relationships, and thwarts the intentions of your loving God working his will in your life.

I must admit that I enjoy stories where the good guy wins against the bad guys trying to get away with being bad. These themes make for great entertainment. Even joy and celebration at the end when the bad guys are all dead. Think “Terminal List.”

Then we can walk away and resume our lives, where we emulate the teaching of Jesus, which is the exact opposite. The trouble is that your children and loved ones are watching you. Learning from you. The entertainment fees you pay serve to teach the world the evil of it.

You're reading this blog. I’m not trying to lay a guilt trip on anyone. I feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to shed a bit of light on something that is well hidden in our culture. Even in our own behavior sometimes.

God says to us to transform our minds. The first step is to see where we are, what we are doing, and know where we should be going. All good.