missmuffet Posted December 31, 2021 Group: Royal Member Followers: 34 Topic Count: 1,992 Topics Per Day: 0.48 Content Count: 48,690 Content Per Day: 11.77 Reputation: 30,343 Days Won: 226 Joined: 01/11/2013 Status: Offline Share Posted December 31, 2021 As humans we want to get back to those who have hurt us. It is a human instinct. But we are to allow God to judge rightly and pour out His divine retribution against His enemies as He sees fit. There are two times in the Bible when God gives men permission to avenge in His name Numbers 31:1-2 and 1 Peter 2:13-14. It is tempting to try to take on the role of God and seek punishment to those who we feel deserve it. Because we are sinful creatures, it is impossible for us to take revenge with a pure motive. Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmuffet Posted December 31, 2021 Group: Royal Member Followers: 34 Topic Count: 1,992 Topics Per Day: 0.48 Content Count: 48,690 Content Per Day: 11.77 Reputation: 30,343 Days Won: 226 Joined: 01/11/2013 Status: Offline Author Share Posted December 31, 2021 2 minutes ago, Rosie1jack2pauline3 said: Oh yes, I’ve wanted to hurt back those who have hurt me, I knew it was wrong, anyway God has helped me to stop doing that, I leave them to him now....this sounds awful and I’m not saying it’s of God, but those who have really hurt me, they have a lot of health problems lately. It takes a lot of courage, restraint and prayer to not get back. It takes faith and trust to give these people to God and let go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alive Posted December 31, 2021 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 22 Topic Count: 194 Topics Per Day: 0.11 Content Count: 11,054 Content Per Day: 6.50 Reputation: 9,018 Days Won: 36 Joined: 09/12/2019 Status: Offline Birthday: 01/09/1956 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Even the consideration of considering the consideration of 'getting back' is far short of the mark. This should not be a consideration and every Christian should be acutely aware of when that may be taking place in heart and mind and run the other way. It can be subtle--very subtle. It is just about the most un-Christlike of thinking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmuffet Posted December 31, 2021 Group: Royal Member Followers: 34 Topic Count: 1,992 Topics Per Day: 0.48 Content Count: 48,690 Content Per Day: 11.77 Reputation: 30,343 Days Won: 226 Joined: 01/11/2013 Status: Offline Author Share Posted December 31, 2021 9 minutes ago, Alive said: Even the consideration of considering the consideration of 'getting back' is far short of the mark. This should not be a consideration and every Christian should be acutely aware of when that may be taking place in heart and mind and run the other way. It can be subtle--very subtle. It is just about the most un-Christlike of thinking. So perhaps we should all ask God to search our heart in 2022 and help us with this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alive Posted December 31, 2021 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 22 Topic Count: 194 Topics Per Day: 0.11 Content Count: 11,054 Content Per Day: 6.50 Reputation: 9,018 Days Won: 36 Joined: 09/12/2019 Status: Offline Birthday: 01/09/1956 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Just now, missmuffet said: So perhaps we should all ask God to search our heart in 2022 and help us with this. Amen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeInHim Posted January 1, 2022 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 6 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 148 Content Per Day: 0.15 Reputation: 100 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/05/2021 Status: Offline Share Posted January 1, 2022 It’s especially difficult when those people who hurt you are the ones who are supposed to treat you with love and care - your parents. It is a constant effort to put it into the hands of God, but I will continue the effort. There is always justice with God. The arc of justice can seem very long to us in our human experience of time. I think maybe someday when we see it from the other side it will seem like it was a blink of an eye. Even those people who see themselves as humble martyrs are often puffed up in their own sense of righteousness and martyrdom and cannot see the injustice they have weighed others down with. They are not exempt from the justice of God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LearningToLetGo Posted January 1, 2022 Group: Senior Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 37 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 717 Content Per Day: 0.35 Reputation: 660 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/21/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted January 1, 2022 To see oneself as God sees us is to see through all our own lies, chicanery and BS. It is to strip ourselves naked in body, thought, spirit and mind such that we see even our innermost thoughts and feelings are known to God before they are known to us. We cannot lie to God. Even the thought of it is impossible. We can, however, lie to ourselves and this is the essential problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Patriot21 Posted January 1, 2022 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 28 Topic Count: 338 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 15,711 Content Per Day: 2.45 Reputation: 8,528 Days Won: 39 Joined: 10/25/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/27/1985 Share Posted January 1, 2022 Im not gonna lie i can be very vindictive. Im better then i was...but i still have my moments. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marathoner Posted January 1, 2022 Group: Royal Member Followers: 16 Topic Count: 72 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 10,248 Content Per Day: 7.09 Reputation: 13,260 Days Won: 99 Joined: 05/24/2020 Status: Offline Share Posted January 1, 2022 I appreciate Pat's candor and honesty, something which our Lord esteems in man. It is better to be honest to a fault than to cover faults with falsehood. We all possess them. My penchant for silence --- both of the lips and keyboard as it were --- serves a specific purpose, friends. A long time ago, the Lord chastised me on account of my carelessness toward my neighbor and brethren alike, some of whom I treated very poorly. I suppose "vindictive" is an acceptable term to sum up a sarcastic tongue, sardonic demeanor, and never forgetting a slight. We know the conviction of the Lord when He calls us to task --- He does so for our benefit, so we might continue onward in being conformed to His image --- and that His dealing with us is for life and good. When I witnessed the truth of what I had done, I was done for. Ah, but this was my first lesson in the nature of His chastisement: the Lord did not expect for me to hide in shame and when I was doing just that, well... He chastised me again! Stand on my feet like the man He created me to be. Take account of my deeds and learn from my error. Is he not our Teacher? Are not we not the children of God, learning and growing while we are present in this world? Zipping my lips, then, was the first step in dealing with the errors of my past. This is how I became skilled at saying nothing at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael37 Posted January 1, 2022 Group: Servant Followers: 21 Topic Count: 244 Topics Per Day: 0.11 Content Count: 7,002 Content Per Day: 3.28 Reputation: 4,920 Days Won: 2 Joined: 07/05/2018 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/23/1954 Share Posted January 1, 2022 9 hours ago, missmuffet said: As humans we want to get back to those who have hurt us. It is a human instinct. But we are to allow God to judge rightly and pour out His divine retribution against His enemies as He sees fit. There are two times in the Bible when God gives men permission to avenge in His name Numbers 31:1-2 and 1 Peter 2:13-14. It is tempting to try to take on the role of God and seek punishment to those who we feel deserve it. Because we are sinful creatures, it is impossible for us to take revenge with a pure motive. Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. Is consigning members to our Ignore Lists being vindictive? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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