Faith

Know Justice, No Peace?

by Andrew Tuttle
05/28/21
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Remember that show Dexter?

A clever, out of the box television series about a blood spatter expert who doubled as a serial killer. Though not your typical serial killer. Dexter got revenge for the little man and rid the world of those who escaped the law and earthly judgement.

But vengeance is mine, says the Lord. Not for you. Perhaps why many feel so frustrated. Where is the revenge?

I think a reason why Dexter and other movies about revenge become so popular is because these outlets satisfy the very human need for justice and revenge. Seriously, how many TV shows have you watched where the bad guys got away with it? The good guys always prevail. Hardly real life. But would you watch a show where the bad guys always win? Probably not a good question to ask in today’s world when so many villainize the police.

I want some type of revenge on a lot of people in my life who have done me wrong. What about you? How about that arrogant drunken college roommate? Check. The cheating ex-girlfriend? Check. A long list of bosses. Check. The self- absorbed neighbor? Check. Even a family member who done you wrong. All those automobile drivers who… (fill in the blank).

That’s just personal hits!

Don’t forget about those in power. Put in office by the misinformed, uneducated and ignorant.  Liars. Cheaters. And Thieves. All of them, it seems. Yet the rich get richer and the elected somehow, someway get re-elected.

How often do you enjoy a satisfying feeling of schadenfreude?

Rarely. If ever.

Now he (Elisha) went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys. He then went on from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. - 2 Kings 2:23-25

Oh, if only...

Perhaps that’s why Jesus talks so much about forgiving one another. Forgiving those who trespass against you. Move on and don’t hold a grudge. Because evil generally prevails. In this life.

Recently, I have pondered about Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12:19 wondering if “’Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’” says the Lord” has been misinterpreted. Perhaps it should say “’Vengeance is mine, I will repay (you for your trouble),’” says the Lord. Admittedly, I have not taken a linguistics class on the original Biblical text, so perhaps we misunderstand the root interpretation of these passages. I have experienced a lot of injustice in my own life and, if you watch the news, many others fare worse than me and you. Strangers, who I hear about and wonder how they ever move forward with their personal injustice.

A childhood friend of mine recently told me about a high school classmate of ours who became the director of the elementary school of his church. I recalled to him telling me years ago about his co-worker who was a neighbor of this classmate. This co-worker didn’t have nice things to say about our classmate. My friend said he reached out to his co-worker saying he saw our classmate – her old neighbor. Her response wasn’t flattering – 30 or so years later.  “Good solid grudge right there,” I responded.

By all accounts, our classmate thrives. I worked with her husband years ago. Arguably the “perfect life.”

No Justice, Know Peace?

I won’t die on this battlefield but does the Lord actually avenge you for the wrongs committed…  against you? Because I have yet to see it in my own life. Instead, many of us hold on to that grudge. Waiting, just waiting for something to happen. It never does.

But, it’s really not about you. Is it? Getting revenge. Of course, we can always take matters into our own hands, literally sometimes, but for those of us who let the Word be a lamp unto our feet, we wait on the Lord to fulfill His promise mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.

Think about this. The person who done you wrong has two paths in life. One with the Lord, the other without. If that person chooses the Lord do you really think, once in heaven, you’ll get your chance of confrontation? Will you even care what happened on earth after you enter the heavenly gates? No.

In fact, I can only assume you’ll be happy to see them. Even in the event of your untimely and brutal murder. Or that of a loved one.  Really?

I can’t see how Isaiah will be happy to see King Manasseh but God promises to make all things new. What if Hitler, in a moment of clarity, confessed and received? Perhaps part of His vengeance comes from hardening the heart of the deplorable, to keep them out. OK, so what about Isaiah’s revenge?

He got sawed in half!

If that person (who done you wrong) chooses eternity without God, the judgement levied really has nothing to do with what happened to you at the hands of said person. The judgement is the denial of Christ, not their sins against you. It’s the sin against God, and their sin against you ultimately is a sin against God, that fulfills the promise of God of eternal damnation against the unbeliever.  

Romans 8:18 says “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”  So while you enjoy the heavenly gardens you might not even be a witness called to the Great White Throne Judgement because your testimony is not needed. The Lord has all He requires to levy a just judgement.

Jesus talks a lot about forgiveness.

For many reasons. But perhaps a primary reason is your desire for revenge holds no bearings. If the Lord came to you and asked, “What would you like me to do?” Would you ask for a roundhouse kick to the face of the perpetrator in your life? Perhaps permission to do it yourself? Oh, wouldn’t that feel good? OK, if he did, how many roundhouse kicks would you have already absorbed because of the revenge He took for someone else on you?

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

As much as you want Him to do something would you even have an answer other than, “How about an apology?” Because an apology heals a lot of wounds and often gets the offender welcomed back into the fold. Problem is, so many refuse to say sorry and admit their sins. The Lord knows what that’s like.

So perhaps, at the very least, instead of an eye for an eye, maybe he repays you for your trouble, however subtle it may be. Not sure how that works for those who fail to rise from their ashes into a blaze of everyday glory but if we hold on to our grudge and need for vengeance, do we miss out on a special blessing?

There’s a saying in Spanish: “Bad weeds never die.”

O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.

Just not on me.