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Learning to love enemies
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Ezekiel 33:11
I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather that he turn from his ways, and live.
Three times, in the last month or so, our online finances have been hijacked in one way or another. Each time I discover this, I picture the bad guy at the other end, and vaguely wish bad things on him. Stick a pin in her … or something.
Fraud is a big deal for online companies, I guess. It happens all the time. Big companies have “fraud departments.” The folks in those departments have been very helpful to us.
What could happen, of course … what HAS happened to lots of folks, is that we could lose a bunch of money somehow. Of course, we have to HAVE a lot of money to lose it, so we can’t lose all that much. J
When I’m treated unfairly it’s really important to remember how blessed and lucky I’ve been all my life. I am grateful that I have something to lose.
Yesterday I saw The Revenant, and watched the power of revenge take its toll on a good man. He survived unspeakable wounds, cold, and starvation – and only became stronger. Also, because redemptive violence is the theme of almost every successful Hollywood drama, his determined chase for revenge seemed to strengthen him even more.
But no, not really. Revenge only made him small. Like it does us all, when we take pleasure in the death of the wicked man.
If my well-being is threatened, I am tempted to circle my wagons and defend my borders. The wicked men are out there, and I’m in here with my little tribe of good guys. Sometimes it gets so bad that I’m the only good guy left, and everybody else is out to get me. That’s usually called “paranoia,” and it’s a serious mental illness.
The truth is that I’m not all that good. The wicked aren’t so wicked, and the good aren’t so good. We’re all God’s children. I have my own wicked ways to turn away from. I’m really thankful that God does not seek revenge, and that he wants the same from me.
When things go wrong, Lord, open my eyes to you. When anger turns my eyes to slits and all my muscles want to hit back, knock me down for a moment to remind me of who I am and who You are. Let me delight in you, Lord at all times, and ride with you on the heights of the earth.
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1436
