A relationship: warns; comforts; and supports one another. This is precisely what the Apostle is doing in our text. It is a short but powerful verse. Paul said that he strongly urged (exhort) them to do what we will discover today. It is a warning; it should comfort (if you obey); and it supports our interrelationships. What we are talking about today isn’t always easy. Although I am typing it here, please take the time to memorize and meditate on this more later— “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” (1 Thessalonians 5.15). This is why we discovered last post: “we are to be patient toward all men.” First and foremost, this is a spiritual thing and not to be discerned carnally. Dash your humanity for just a minute and listen to the Spirit as we discover a powerful truth today.
What about when our patience wears thin with people?
It does, doesn’t it? In fact, this may be the perfect time for this verse as our present culture is folding-in on itself. Are we then allowed to take matters into our own hands?Simply— No and Never. We are not allowed to retaliate at all. This is why Paul continues his warning with the opposite of patience— “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” (5.15). The very act of “rendering evil” to someone else can be a death blow to our spiritual walk with Christ.
What happens when our temper sores and we lose it?
- People pay a price.
- The Gospel pays a price.
- Jesus pays a price.
- You pay a price
The issue is the mind.
It is a matter of our thought-patterns and thought-habits. No thought of retaliation should be in the mind of believer at any-time to any-one. God said— “See that none render evil for evil unto any man…” In case that’s not enough let’s take a sampling of the Bible for a few minutes on this topic: Proverbs 20.22— “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.” Wait on who? The Lord. Do not even say it, wait! How about Proverbs 24.29— “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.” Again, do not even say it. God said in Deuteronomy 32.35— “To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.” God said He would take care of business! “It shall come upon them”, He said. Paul said in Romans 12.19— “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Who will repay it? The Lord said, ‘I will!’ Romans 12.17 says— “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.” Who? No man! Peter said in 1 Peter 3.9— “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” Peter, the one who cut a dudes ear off said— ‘return fire with blessing.’ Solomon, the wisest man who lived said in Proverbs 17.13— “Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.” That is definitely worse— “evil for good”. Secondly and more importantly, it comes with a curse. I have seen this played out…it’s not pretty! Jesus taught on this first with His disciples in Matthew 5.39-45. Focus on verse 45— “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Notice the phrase— “the children of”. This means that they act like it. As if someone is saying to you, ‘you are just like your dad.’ Maybe we should look at God’s own son, by whom we are adopted into the family.
How did Jesus live?
He turned the cheek because He had a greater purpose than just living. He didn’t want, in any way, to derail His purpose of glorifying God and saving souls. He prayed for them and did not retaliate. He forgave them. He loved them. He gave mercy and pity to them. He was the perfect picture of meekness because He is meekness. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is the power or ability to act or react but controlled or harnessed. Doesn’t this mirror the life lived by David? The man after God’s own heart, a meek man. Moses, a meek man the Bible says. Also spoke to God like a friend, face to face. Is that still your desire? To be the person after God’s heart and a person who has Moses-level relationship status? David wrote prolifically in the Psalms about his internal struggles with people. But he turned to God and prayed and sought Him. He asked God to take care of His enemies. He didn’t move unless god said so. When he violated this, he paid for it relationally and physically. He didn’t want to allow his life to make fun of God in anyway at all! He loved God that much. How much do we love Him?
What are we to do then?
Some things have already been mentioned like: pray, love, give pity, forgive. In fact, God said in Romans 12.14, and 17-21 quite a bit about this specifically. I encourage you to read this text more fully, but for now focus your attention on—verse 21, which says… “We overcome evil with good”. This is just like what Christ said in Matthew 5 and was lived out by every person of faith in the New Testament. What if they continue to do wrong to me? Good question! As we already read— we are to let God deal with it. If you don’t, the scripture is clear that you will eventually be bitter, which cuts off the forward motion of God in your own life. So who is struggling now. Isn’t that the way it is. Your mad, they did you wrong, you become jaded or bitter and they get to move on just fine and dandy. Pretty lame isn’t it?! It doesn’t have to be that way. You can follow God’s counsel here and let Him handle it. God said in Leviticus 19.18— “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” Did you notice the correlation of— taking matters in your own hands and “I am the Lord.“ Is He sovereign or isn’t He? Is He your sovereign?
In other words— are you truly surrendered? Every aspect of your life? Including your relationships? Who’s really in charge? Isn’t it also interesting the correlation God makes here with— “love thy neighbor”?
This was written 3460 years ago. Yet Jesus said in John 13.34— “a new commandment I give unto you…”This is 1460 years later! It is “new” as in the sense of refreshed or renewed (kainos) fresh. Could it be that we need a fresh look at what it means to— loving our neighbor? Or as the Pharisees struggled with— who is my neighbor? (Luke 10.29). As if there are categories. God help us love humanity!
We need to be Jesus to others. Jesus was ‘God Centered’ 1st and foremost. Then He was ‘Others Centered’. He did not want anything to come between Him and God or cause any dishonor to His Father. In turn He did not want anything to offend the “least of these” so that they may be saved and grow.
Resentment; Anger; Grudges; Bitterness; Evil Speaking; Backbiting; Manipulation; Scheming; Plotting… are all condemned by Christ. They are also all symptoms of a single heart problem—TRUST
Do you really trust that He can take care of it? Do you really trust that He will be the one to correct the situation? The answer shows your love level for Him and to others.