Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Paul is writing the believers in Thessalonica for several reasons, one being to exhort them to uphold ethical behavior with one another. Here he is clearly saying that getting even with someone who has wronged you is not to be tolerated within the body of Christ. We are to try to bring good out of evil. This flies in the face of our society today. Revenge or retaliation is seen as a strength. To overlook an act of evil is seen as a sign of weakness. We can only control our own thoughts, words, actions and reactions. Therefore we are to heed the words of the Apostle Paul and never pay back wrong for wrong. Nothing positive ever comes out of vengeance. The satisfaction you may get from it dissipates quickly as retaliation is plotted against you by the other. And around and around we go … where it stops nobody knows. Scripture is God breathed and meant for our instruction but it can’t help us if we ignore it. Read and practice those things that the Bible imparts. Until next time … walk with the King and be a blessing!
