Bikers Revenge

We like revenge. Taking revenge or seeing revenge taking place makes us feel good.

How did you feel when the van rammed the motorcycle? Most of us said yessssss!!!! He deserved it. (watch 2 min. video here)

We love to see someone get what they deserve.  We  like it when the guy goes speeding past us and in few miles down the road you see a state trooper has pulled them over. There is this feeling that justice was served.  We like to see people get what they deserve. Especially when they have done something to us or someone they love. When we do get them back. Or when something happens to them that gets them we rejoice in that they got what they deserved.

Leonardo Da Vinci, just before he commenced work on his “last supper” painting had a violent argument with a fellow painter.  Leonardo was so bitter that he determined to paint the face of his enemy, the other artist, into the face of Judas, and thus take revenge by handing the man down in infamy and scorn to succeeding generations. The face of Judas was, therefore, one of the first he finished.  And everyone could easily recognize it as the face of the painter with whom he had quarreled.

But when it came to paint the face of Christ, he could make no progress. Something seemed to be baffling him, holding him back, frustrating his best efforts. Finally he came to the conclusion that the thing that was frustrating him was that he had painted the face of his enemy onto the face of Judas.  He painted out the face of Judas and was then able to resume his work on the face of Jesus and this time he did it with success that the ages have acclaimed.

When Davinci moved past his right to take revenge and made the right response instead, he broke the power of hatred and allowed the love of Christ to have the last word. As Christ followers, we are to let the love of Christ have the last word. When it comes to revenge  we Christ followers have no rights. We are not entitled to do anything. So what do you if someone has wronged you?  Or you happened to be the victim of an injustice? Do you just have to sit and take it?

No. You don’t.

Look at what God is asking us to do:

• “If your enemies are hungry feed them.”
• “If your enemies are thirsty give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap     burning coals of shame on their heads.”
• “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”

As a Christ follower  this what you are entitled to do. That is humanly impossible!! You are absolutely right. God is asking us to allow the supernatural to happen but we must be willing to give up the need for revenge. Revenge just makes us feel good but it accomplishes absolutely nothing.

Over the last couple of years there has been a man from Idaho whose name is Saeed Abini who has been in one of the worse prisons in Iran.  He was put in prison because he was a Christian who wanted to start an orphanage in Iran. He got government approval but the government changed their mind and put in prison. While he has been in prison he got to write this letter to his wife:

Dear Naghmeh, I have been stung so many times that I have become full of poison. This is an Iranian saying. A lot of people say that they have been stung by so many people who their whole being is full of poison like a poisonous snake. It means that we have been bitten by the snakes of this world so many times that, that all of the poison has collected in us and that we are like the poisonous snake. But if we sting anyone, we will die. This Iranian saying is full of spirit of revenge and unforgiveness and every time I would hear this in Iran, I would get very sick hearing it.

A few days ago they brought a young war veteran who was disabled in 80% of his body in my cell. He had been put in solitary confinement with his horrific condition. And this had made him very mad and he kept saying “why did they do this to me? I gave my whole life for their sake. See what they have done to me!!!” And when he would get very mad he would say “I will take my revenge!”

I spoke to this young man until 4 in the morning. I spent time with him and spoke to him to forgive. When we don’t forgive, we drink the poison ourselves and then wait for the other person to die. And we take the knife that has hurt us and we stab ourselves with it again! And this is the will of the evil one who wants to destroy us.

But when we forgive, we pour out the poison of the enemy and of the devil and we don’t let the poison stay in us and we don’t let the poison make us into poisonous snakes! So that we don’t become like the person we despised and who persecuted and tortured us.

If we don’t forgive we take revenge. We might not run over motorcycles or physically hurt someone. We can also be silent or give someone the cold shoulder. We can talk about them behind their back. We can throw knives at them in our dream. We can wish they would have justice serve to them.

We can’t change what people have done to us. We can’t change their attitude toward us. We can’t change what our enemies think of us. What we can do when people do evil against us is to love them sacrificially. We do that by serving them instead of hurting them.  To love someone sacrificially who has hurt you, one must give up the need for personal revenge.  By personal revenge I mean giving someone the cold shoulder, or hurt them physically, emotionally, or just talk about how awful they are behind their back. If we do those things then we are no different from the person who has hurt us.

Look at the evil they did to Jesus. Did Jesus just sit around and do nothing?  NO. He loved them sacrificially. He said, “Father forgive them because they don’t  know what they are doing.”

Look at Joseph in the OT (Genesis 50)

• They threw him a sewage pit.
• They sold him as a slave
• He was framed for rape
• Thrown into prison
• Forgotten about.

He had every reason to grow bitter. He had every reason to retaliate. When he was put into power he could have easily destroyed his brothers.  But what did he do? He first had a little fun with them. What he decided to do was love them sacrificially.

Look at what he says to his brothers in Genesis 50:19

¹⁹ But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Did you hear what Joseph said?  AM I GOD THAT I CAN PUNISH YOU?

When we take revenge – whatever kind of revenge it is – we are making our self, God. Keep in mind, if you want revenge, if you want to hold a grudge, if you want to give a cold shoulder, God is not going to stop you. He is not a God who manipulates and controls his people. God even allows us to play His role. Early in Romans he tells us that he will let us pursue the lust of the flesh. As Christ followers we are to let the love of Christ have the final word.  Like Davinci we are to move past our right to take revenge and do the right thing.

Joseph didn’t take revenge. What did Joseph do? Who moved his whole family closer and he took care of them.  Joseph did the right thing – he gave his family food, something to drink, and a place to stay. What was Joseph able to do?  Despite the evil his brothers  did to him, he forgave them. Forgiving someone is loving someone sacrificially who doesn’t deserve it. When you do this you are letting the love of Christ have the last word. When you love them sacrificially you move past your right to take revenge and you do the right thing.

Jesus makes forgiveness a pretty big deal. Look at what he says:

Matthew 5:43-45

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’  and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.

Matthew 6:12

¹² and forgive us our sins,     as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

How do you forgive those who have betrayed  you, abused you, or done you wrong in some way!

To forgive is a willful choice. It is a point in time decision. To forgive isn’t a feeling. It is a willful decision you have to make in your mind. Forgiveness is not going to happen just because you say “I forgive you.” It is a decision you make. Its changing the way you think.

Forgiveness is a process. It is a journey of aligning  our will and emotions. We might have made the conscious decision to forgive but our emotions don’t always go with our decision. Past memories still hurt. When you see them or have to deal with them or the issue – emotions are going to come.

How do you align your emotions up with what you have decided to do?

• Pray for yourself
• Then Bless them by doing good to them for the evil they have done to you.

How do you know when your emotions have caught up with your decision?  When you are able to rejoice with them when something good happens to them and mourn with them when something bad happens to them.

Forgiveness allows Christ to have the last word. When Christ has the last word – something supernatural happens.