Christian payback
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Payback.
Revenge.
Retaliation.
Is that the way you operate when someone does something to you? If you get hurt, embarrassed or feel like you’ve been treated wrongly, is your first instinct to think “What can I do to get revenge on them?”
There is no doubt that is the natural reaction of our selfish, sinful self. It is also the attitude which the world around us tells us is okay and even permissible and acceptable.
I once had someone tell me “There’s something different about you Christians.” Our Bible verse for this week helps us understand how our Christian “payback” is and ought to be different from the way the world around us or our sinful self wants to act.
Just look at the words in our verse which stand in stark contrast to the idea of revenge or payback – kind, compassionate, forgiving.
It is not easy to be kind, compassionate or forgiving when you’ve been hurt, put down or embarrassed. Look at the end of the verse and you see someone else who was hurt, put down and embarrassed – all innocently. Yet as he hung there dying, he cried out “Father, forgive them.”
That (what Jesus did for us) is the motivation and guidance for us to act with Christian payback. We cannot do it on our own. We can only do it with the strength that God alone provides.
Think of the words we pray each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” If we are going to ask God to forgive us all our sins, we need to be ready and willing to forgive everyone and anyone who sins against us. But it is not just uttering the words “I forgive you,” it is also being kind and compassionate and demonstrating the love of Christ – especially when it is not easy or popular.
All of this is part of living our Christian faith – all the time. It is putting into practice something which Jesus, the epitome of love and compassion, also taught us “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).
When we are kind and compassionate when people don’t expect it, we are letting the light of our faith shine brightly for all to see our Savior. When we forgive, as we have been forgiven, when we’ve been hurt or wronged we let the light of Jesus shine for all to see.
Christian payback is unexpected and the direct opposite of what people expect. Christian love is the direct opposite of what people expect. Christ love compels us to love as we have been loved.