Evil for Evil, Insult for Insult

 

One of my discipleship groups is in the middle of a "Creation to Christ" series. We started at Genesis and are working our way to Christ's death and resurrection. Today we were looking at 1 Samuel 24 and 26 where David has two perfect opportunities to kill Saul. Saul has been chasing after David to kill him. Although David had no ill intentions toward Saul, Saul had every desire to kill David. Instead of killing Saul, David cut Saul's robe while he was in a cave, relieving himself.

"But then David's conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul's robe. 'The Lord knows I should have done that to my lord the king,' he said to his men. 'The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king and attack the Lord's anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.' So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul." (1 Samuel 24:5-7) 

What a great display of mercy upon an enemy. Do we have that kind of restraint, grace, and mercy toward our enemies? Unfortunately, we often want to take God's place in condemning and judging those who mock and hate God. We should be like David. We don't like to love the acts committed, but retribution is not our job. We act as though God needs our defending. We act as though God doesn't know what is happening and we need to judge and convict. I often see wonderful Christian friends matching insult for insult on social media over the news of the day, or politics. Do our actions help us reach the lost? Do our words give us hope in sharing the love of Jesus with people who hate God and mock him? 

I pray we would be more like David. I pray instead of getting into a war of words, we would implement 1 Peter 3:

"Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. 'If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.'" (1 Peter 3:8-12)

I am greatly saddened by people who mock the Lord and those who take lightly the power of God. I fear for them and the retribution that will come if they do not turn to seek the Lord. But, I refuse to battle evil with evil, hate with hate, and sow division in this world. 1 Peter 3 continues with this:

"Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people apeak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good like you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, that to suffer for doing wrong." (1 Peter 3:13-17)

When God tells us to be prepared to defend our faith, he is not telling us HE needs defending. God does not need defending and he has called us to love our neighbor AND love our enemy as we love ourselves. Our defense is strongest by the way we live, how we react to evil and hate, how we live when facing persecution, and how we love our enemies. I often want to lash out at the lost and their blatant hate for Christ and everything he stands for, but God has called me to love my enemy instead. Please Lord help me to react like you would and like David did with Saul. Please help me restrain myself from getting even!

As Christians, we can never pay back evil for evil, insult for insult, or hate for hate. God will always have the final say. Let's let him be God and we stick to being his servants. 

At the end of every devotion I will ask some thought provoking questions. Please Journal your thought on these questions:

How would Jesus react to someone mocking God? How do you react to those who mock God to your face? What do you do when your faith is challenged by someone who claims God does not exist, the Bible is a fairytale, or that Christ did not really live, really die, or really rise from the dead? How do we defend the faith in a loving and gentle way?