Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 HCSB

This Scripture passage is a part of a group of passages in Romans 12 that range from verse 9-verse 21. My Bible has the title, Christian Ethics as a heading for these verses.

I started at verse 19, but in verses 9-21, Paul is explaining the proper way for Christians to conduct ourselves. In most jobs there is a code of conduct or a code of ethics that is to be followed. Some things in some jobs that are considered unethical are also illegal.

As Christians we sometimes fall into a “holier than thou” attitude and are quick to point our finger at those that are not conducting themselves in an unethical manner. But, I caution you against doing so before you assess yourself. Are you conducting yourself in a proper manner for a Christian? Are you behaving ethically as a Christian? The definition of ethics is moral principles that govern a person’s behavior. Paul is explaining proper ethical behavior for a Christian. He begins by telling us that we should love with hypocrisy. This means we love the sinner and hate the sin. He tells us to detest evil and cling to what is good. We are to show affection for one another with brotherly love. We should strive to outdo one another in showing honor. We are to fervently serve the Lord. We are to rejoice in the hope we have and be patient with other’s afflictions while being persistent in prayer. We are to share with the saints and pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.

Now as you read through this, it’s quite an extensive list. You may also notice that it tends to be the exact opposite of the worldview. This is because as Christians we are to see this life through a Biblical view or by using the Bible as our lens.

Do you feel like you or someone you love is being wronged by someone? Do you feel that there are those that need to exhibit more Christian like behavior? We live in a fallen world. We can see people all around us that misbehave, those that lack Christian ethics, those that mistreat others. But, we shouldn’t be one of those. We should not join in their behavior. Instead as Christians, we are called to follow the guidelines laid out for us in the Bible.  Paul made it very clear how we are to act when we are confronted with evil behavior. He tells us point blank how we are to handle our enemies.

It’s our job to love everyone. It’s our job to try to be at peace with them if at all possible. It this is not possible, then we may need to love them from a distance, but we should never fail to pray for them. We pray for their salvation. It is only through salvation that an enemy can become our brother or sister in Christ. Most importantly, we trust God to do the rest.

When we take matters into our own hands, it is as if saying we don’t trust God to properly handle the situation. My friend I have seen God handle situations in ways that have left me pleading with Him to show mercy on my enemies. I have seen Him handle them in ways that were far more harsh than I imagined. I can assure you, He will repay. When someone opposes His child, they are opposing Him.

If you have enemies that come against you, know that God is ready, willing and able to deal with them. But, He will not take second place. You have to give it all over to Him and trust Him. It’s our job to love them and pray for them. It is His job to handle revenge if they don’t get straight with Him.

If you find yourself focusing on what someone is doing wrong, be sure that you are doing what’s right in God’s eyes. If so, you can trust that God’s got this and He doesn’t need your help. So just relax and give it all over to Him.

Have a great day!