I'll Pay Them Back

Proverbs 24:12,24-29 – If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?...Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations. But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them. An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. Do not testify against your neighbor without cause—would you use your lips to mislead? Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.”

Job 2:3 – Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

Proverbs 25:21-22 – If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Matthew 5:44-45 – But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Romans 12:17-18 – Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Application:

• ·         God cannot be stirred up to do things against His will. Though it is not always clear how, everything that happens is part of His divine purpose.
• ·         God knows even our thoughts and motives
• ·         Kindness to one’s enemy is encouraged.
• ·         “Heap burning coals on his head” may reflect an Egyptian ritual, in which a guilty person, as a sign of his repentance, carried a basin of glowing coals on his head. The meaning here, then, would be that in returning good for evil—and so being kind to your enemy—you may cause him to repent or change.
• ·         Prayer is one of the practical ways love expresses itself.
• ·         Christian conduct should never betray the high moral standards of the gospel, or it will provoke the disdain of unbelievers and bring the gospel into disrepute.
• ·         Jesus pronounced a blessing on peacemakers, and believers are to cultivate peace with everyone to the extent that such peace depends on them.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV