Its wild how a conversation during the day can come back later & knock you in the head.
Ricky & I were out at lunch & we got on the topic of revenge. Ricky is very much the Old Testatment (OT) belief of "an eye for an eye". When I mention the NT of Jesus "turn the other cheek" - I get the debate of "Do we still believe in the Ten Commandments? That's OT?" - Oh, we can go round & round & have some serious debated conversations. Such was one we had over O'Charley's (YUM! - must try they're new pretzel covered chicken)
Any-hoo....we go to Thrive last night. The skit performed by everyone was very moving & hit right to the point of how we carry "luggage" around when we need to pray to God to let it go & let Him handle it. Who are we to carry it around & harbor all the resentment & let it eat away at us? Would God want us to live that sort of life? No way. Next came a video that had amazing points about what?.... you guessed it - Revenge! I loved this comment - "Do we think we can give the punishment someone deserves? Do we think we are better than God & know how to handle the situation?". I also loved how they brought up the verse regarding a dog will return to his own vomit - but you dont have to be there when they do - you can remove yourself from someone & actually forgive them for the wrong doings that they did to you. The point was made too that you shouldnt put it off - you may not have tomorrow to give up that "luggage" - why wait? Thrive was wonderful!
But if you know me & Ricky - you know there were more "debates" (code for arguments) about this. Ricky's point was, as Christians - why do we believe in the legal system. Isn't it based on revenge? Isn't justice the same as revenge? We take people who have done wrong & give them a punishment - in some form or another. Shouldnt we as Christian's forgive them & let them go to see if they learned their lesson. He drives me nuts - because I do see his point (that's the worst part!) So what do you think? Is justice the same as "revenge" in a sense? How does it fit into a Biblical/Christian lifestyle?
The bottom line for me - I'm just glad that Christ came so I dont get what I deserve! Could you imagine what life would be like for us if we all got our deserved punishment? I get chills thinking about it - but Praise the Lord - we have our Merciful & Gracious Lord who forgives us!
Okay, gearing up for Saturday now!!! Listen... there is just such a difference between justice and revenge... justice is punishment handed out by our legal system to fit the crime. Revenge is handed out in the heat of the moment, often resulting in more death and violence. Justice is an Army doing its job to protect and serve... revenge would be terrorists doing theirs, killing to satisfy the hatred that burns within their very souls... Remember... I LOVE a good conversation... it generally makes me very hungry!!!!! I will have to cook extra now!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lynn. Justice is in place to protect others. Without justice, there would be no rules (no ten commandments) and we would live in chaos. God knows what is best for us and gave us a law to help us live our lives the best way possible. Revenge does not protect and does not allow us to live better lives. Revenge causes pain and suffering, which is what justice aims to prevent.
ReplyDeleteOk, well Mike sent me your post to work so that I could read it, and I planned on coming home and commenting....and my comments have basically been made already by Lynn and Jules. I too agree that there is a definate difference between justice and revenge. Another way to look at it is that justice is given out by a group of professionals who are trained in doing just that, and making sure that the punishment fits the crime and all that. Revenge is usually given out by the person who was the victim, or by someone close to the victim, and it involves emotions and irrational thinking. Huge difference!
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