Romans 12:17-18 – “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
If you are on Facebook you know it is a tool, or avenue of communication between, and among, all kinds of people whom we claim as “friends.” Some of the friends may be family, while others will be acquaintances from our past, and still others will be folks we see and communicate with nearly every day.
I admit I am a Facebooker. I steer clear of the political chatter there. I like finding and hearing from persons I knew when I was younger, and catching up with them.
It has been my standard practice, starting several years ago when Facebook was young, to post a verse from God’s Word every day. I do this for a couple of reasons. One, I hope the words make a difference in the lives of those who read them. Secondly, I want people I care about to know that God cares for them and wants them to come to Him.
A few days ago I posted Romans 12:17 – “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” It is the carnal nature, I think, of many people to want to seek revenge when they are hurt or slighted by another person. They want to lash out with the same treatment they received. The Apostle Paul teaches otherwise, He clearly says don’t retaliate in kind. He goes on in verse 18 to say, “as far as it depends on you, live in peace with everyone.
And, you know, it always depends upon me, and you, when we are hurt, to keep our relationship one of peace.
The Facebook post I mentioned above was posted just a couple of days prior to the outbreak of lunacy in our country. What we are seeing all over the blighted news reports is purely and simply people repaying evil with evil. As I said earlier, I make every effort to avoid political chatter, debate and argumentation. But, when God’s Word clearly speaks against what we see happening in the streets of our cities, God’s people must recognize it for what it is. We must not only recognize it, but we must also avoid it.
And, above all, we must spring into action using the greatest weapon we have available to us to conquer this evil.
We, as Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, have an even greater duty when we see the events which are destroying our country both physically and spiritually. That greater duty is to pray for those souls who know and follow Satan’s command which will lead them to their own destruction. We have the responsibility to pray for them to come to the knowledge of the way of peace, which can only come with at relationship with Jesus Christ.
----- Gary K. Fair
Commentaires