When I was a child, if someone was hit by another person, they would make up for it by saying “Hit me back, and then we’re even”. The return hit wasn’t ever hard or even mean, it was simply to get revenge for the wrong done, thereby making things right between them.
But that is a worldly way of handling things, and God-fearing people should be above that.
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We show ourselves to be God-fearing by the way we act, or more correctly, by the way we react.
The world is a place where people seek revenge. Oh, yeah, they may call it justice, but the truth is that it is mostly revenge. You hurt me, and now I will hurt you…so there!
If you scroll through the popular streaming channels, like Netflix, Hulu, Prime or Paramount, I’ll bet if you count you will find only four types of movies: drama, romance, comedy, and an awful lot of vengeance movies.
And I have to confess, I do like the idea of getting that slammer in on someone who is being a real jerk, insulting them to the level where it pulls the rug out from under them and leaves them so embarrassed they are unable to respond. Oh yeah- that feels so good.
But does it really? Will I really feel proud of myself by acting at their level? I am pretty sure that I will still feel whatever pain they caused, but now I’ll also be embarrassed that I was as foolish and immature as they were.
And worse than that, I know that I will have disappointed God.
However, don’t get me wrong: I am not saying you shouldn’t defend yourself. No way! Hey, if someone wants to hurt me, and I can’t talk my way out of it, well…I am not a violent person, but I know how to be. The idea of turning the other cheek is only a metaphor.
The way to handle being insulted or hurt, in order to show that we are God-fearing, is to not reply with the same action or hurtful words, but to forgive and move on. In fact, we are expected to forgive: Yeshua tells us in Matthew 6:14 when we forgive, we will be forgiven.
The next thing he says isn’t so easy to hear, in Matthew 6:15, when we are told if we do not forgive, then we will not be forgiven.
So, the best way to handle being hurt is to not repay the hurt, but to show forgiveness. I know it’s hard to do that, especially when the hurt is significant, but it is essential to your salvation to forgive.
Proverbs 20:22 tells us not to return evil for evil, and what helps me to forgive that “unforgiveable” sin is to remember this: forgiving someone who sins against me doesn’t make them right with God, but it does make me right with God. And I also feel better knowing that come Judgement Day I will be in good standing, while they will have to answer for their actions.
Look, if someone has been exceptionally cruel to you and you find it hard to even think about forgiving them, consider what they will have to go through when they face God; if that doesn’t make you feel just a little bit sorry for them, then you need to work on your own spiritual maturity.
Thank you for being here and please don’t forget to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!