I’m sure most of you have heard variations on the notion that bitterness or thoughts of revenge are the metaphorical poison that we ourselves drink in the mistaken hope that someone else will die.
And yet we can spend our quiet moments thinking how we can best respond or what we can do to bring hurt, humiliation or loss to someone who has hurt us.
Remember this is not justice or accountability we’re talking about. This is the desire to sate our own sense of pain by the pain of our injurer.
Christians are enjoined to take all the revenge they want, as long as it conforms to God’s pattern: love.
At CCEF Ed Welch writes:
How convenient. A proof text for polite revenge. This doesn’t sound very nice, unless having burning coals on your head is a good thing.
If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. (Romans 12:20, citing Proverbs 25:21-22)
Burning coals are consistently bad things in Scripture [1] so how is this instruction in line with “bless and do not curse” (Rom 12:14) your adversary? We don’t need anything that can incite our nefarious motives, so Paul’s words are worth further reflection.
What do these words mean?
Here is one way to put Paul’s thoughts together.
Paul just told us that enemies of God’s children will stand before his wrath (Rom 12:19). Our God sees injustice and stands against perpetrators. When understood correctly, this is a frightening thing, so frightening that if enemies had a choice they would gladly be crushed by the weight of crumbling mountains than stand without an advocate before the Holy One (Luke 23:30). When understood correctly, this arouses our pity.
Next, avoid being distracted by the burning coals comment. When Paul encourages us to feed our hungry enemy he is echoing the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, instead of an ‘eye for an eye’:
…Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. (Matt 5:39-40, also see Luke 6:29-30)
This much is clear: the goal, Jesus says, is love—love your enemy (Matt 5:44). The rules of engagement for enemies are no different from those for family and friends. We consider their interests: we love, we offer food, drink or whatever is needed.
Yes, Paul writes, we are in a war, and we fight to win, though not for the sake of our own name. We shun weak and useless tactics such as backbiting, quests for personal vindication, or other versions of anger. These have no power; they only breed further division. Instead, we wage battle the way battle was waged against us. We seek to disarm with love.
Read Welch’s words about how this principle is applied personally at CCEF.
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