Articles
The Revenge Business
Among many great quotes from The Princess Bride, Inigo Montoya, after spending the better part of his life seeking revenge for the death of his father, commented, “I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it’s over, I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life.” Lovable as the character is, the statement betrays a truth that few of us wish to admit: revenge is volatile; we are pretty bad at it; therefore let’s leave it up to God.
Nahum 1:2-3a – “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord; the Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.”
“A jealous and avenging God is the Lord” – While we may desperately want to take our own vengeance, it is important to remember our place. This verse is comforting because it affirms to me that God has the vengeance business all taken care of. I do not need to interfere with Him. The New Testament further elucidates the point in Romans 12:17-21. We notice that throughout the Bible, those who decide to take their own vengeance are eventually consumed by it. The revenge becomes a cancer to the soul. It is a substance too dangerous for us to handle.
God has the benefit of perspective. He sees all and knows all, even the hearts and whereabouts of every soul. “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, Thou are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me. If I say, ‘Surely, darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee” (Psalm 139:7-12).
He is not affected by bias, or prejudice (Galatians 2:6). “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent” (Numbers 23:19). “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17).
He knows when enough is enough. “For the Lord will not reject forever, for if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness. For He does not afflict willingly, or grieve the sons of men” (Lamentations 3:31-33).
