Beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave from for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ (Romans 12:19)
Following the school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia last week, a representative of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation stood in front of a bank of microphones and a gaggle of reporters and said the 14-year-old shooter who killed two fellow students and two teachers would be tried as an adult.
After he spoke, I rewound it and listened to him again. And again. What struck me each time I listened to this man talk was the sound of vengeance in his voice. The sense I got was that he not only wanted the shooter punished, he wanted him to suffer, as if somehow his suffering would set things right. In that moment, all I could hear was the hate in his voice.
When the Bible cautions us to leave vengeance to God, perhaps it’s because our desire for revenge, our inward need to “get even,” warps our own heart. The anger and hate that accompanies our desire for vengeance mis-shapes us in a way that we are no longer the image of God but rather we become the image of evil.
For sure, the perpetrator of this awful act should be punished. Justice certainly demands consequences. However, in our quest for justice we also must be careful that we don’t become what the shooter became which is something less than what God is calling us all to be.
The wisdom of Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
If we are going to build the kingdom of God Jesus proclaimed, we cannot let our anger turn our hearts to hate. Seek justice but leave the wrath and vengeance to God. We are not strong enough to handle it, but we can trust that God is.
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