“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. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’[1] says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’[2] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21)
Although the temptation is to choke the living daylights out of those who are evil to you in this life, the Lord instructs us not to repay evil for evil. The Apostle Paul quotes two passages from the Old Testament (listed in the footnotes) to make his point to the readers of this letter. We never achieve anything good by doing bad. We are to be different than those in the world. We are in many ways to do just the opposite as they do. If they do evil, we are to repay with good. When we continually do good, we heap burning coals on their heads. The Reformation Study Bible explains that phrase thusly: “The most likely meaning is penitence through a burning sense of shame. Some associate the image with an Egyptian penitential rite in which coals were carried on the head to show contrition.” The Holy Spirit of God tends to such things. We need not trouble ourselves with repayment. We are not to waste our good time worrying about how to bring fire down from on high regarding such people. God wishes that all would repent and be saved from their sins (1 Timothy 2:4). Our repayment would only solidify their anger towards us in a ‘tit for tat’ fashion, giving them a reason to retaliate. It would never end. But if we show kindness to the worst of our enemies, it may do what it is designed to do; that being to bring them to repentance and eventual salvation. God knows what He's doing and never allows emotion to come into His decisions. We react without thinking many times allowing our emotions to drive our words or actions and it can tend to get us into hot water. Overcome evil with good, no matter how difficult it may seem at the time and the Lord will reward you for your obedience.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
[1] Deuteronomy 32:35 – The entire verse reads as such: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
[2] Proverbs 25:21-22 adds this phrase to the end … “and the Lord will reward you.”
