Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19-21

The idea of vengeance is a common theme in modern culture. Whether you’re reading J.R.R. Tolkien or watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy or any number of movies and plays, there is usually a protagonist countered by an antagonist. You’ll even find this them in romantic comedies.

Jeremiah made his own plea –

O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous,
who sees the heart and the mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.

Jeremiah 20:12

Like Jeremiah, we are drawn to this idea, because we want to see the good guys win and the bad guys lose and so when faced with a real life scenario, we tend to look for an opportunity to avenge ourselves.

Paul reminds us to take a step back and more. Instead of taking matters into our own hands, the Lord will repay and so contrary to our natural reaction, we should feed our enemies or give them something to drink if they’re thirsty.

This is a foreign concept in our world. Just this week, an international politician said, “”Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan. If you are strong enough, ruthless enough, and powerful enough, evil will overcome good.”

I’m not here to discuss international politics, but I am interested in each of us learning the secret of avoiding the real danger of being ‘overcome by evil” and overcoming “evil with good” instead.