How sweet is revenge really?
Jacques B.
I empower you to succeed through data-driven coaching for personal development, career advancement, team optimisation, and business excellence.
I noticed a flood of revenge based movies in the past year or so. We revel with the hero when they finally settle the score, we cheer and encourage others to be vengeful and get their revenge. My question is: Is revenge really sweet or is there a bitter taste that lasts longer than our wrath?
In Matthew 6 the disciples ask of Jesus to teach them how to pray, they get an answer that I think we all should read again Matthew 6: 9 - 15
New International Version
9?“This, then, is how you should pray: "‘Our Father?in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10?your kingdom?come, your will be done,?on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12?And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
14?For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
?15?But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Reread verse 15, how tough is that! In the past 20 years or so I had to do my fair share of forgiving, worst is, I have had to ask for forgiveness more times than I dare to remember. Out of all who are reading here, I may be the one who needs forgiveness more than anyone else.
I had to learn to forgive as well. Forgiveness is not something you do for others, it's something you do for yourself. It starts with writing it down, saying it out loud is sometimes very hard. However the more you do it the freer you feel, and the more you feel empowered.
I realised that I also had to ask God for forgiveness for what I've done to others and myself. I had to repent, turn away from it and not pay attention to my sin any longer. You are by far your worst enemy as you'll keep thinking back on your sins or whatever the other person or persons has done to you. That is when you need to remember that when Jesus hung there on the cross, bleeding, exhausted, thirsty feeling as if God Himself has forgotten Him, He still asked God to forgive us!
So who are we not to forgive? Have we not been forgiven? Only if we didn't forgive, to begin with!
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