About pushing back against wanting to get even…
Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is
right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on
you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave
room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will
repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry,
feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will
heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good. (NIV)
You are not helpless against wanting to get even. When you are hurt and you
are wronged by another person you may want to even the score. When you are
damaged and broken by another person you may want to undo the damage and fix the
brokenness by getting even. However, the idea of getting even is a false idea
put into your mind by Satan and his forces of deception. The truth is there is
no true way of getting even with another person. There is no true way of evening
up the score by hurting another person for what was done to you. There is no
true way of getting even because hurting someone else does not make your own
hurt go away. Hurting someone else does not fix your brokenness. Hurting someone
else does not undo a wrong committed against you. However, there is a way to
erase the wrong, heal the hurt, repair the damage, and fix the brokenness. You
can erase the wrong, heal the hurt, repair the damage, and fix the brokenness by
pushing back against wanting to get even. You can push back and heal, repair,
and fix the hurt by asking Christ to push with you. You can push back by asking
Christ to help you be forgiving. Certainly it is not the way of the world to
forgive. The way of the world is to try to get you to even the score by doing to
others the same bad things others have done to you. However, look around you.
Look at the results of the way of the world. Now look within your heart where
God is within. When you look within your heart…the place within you where God
is found, then you will see His way is not the way of the world. God's way is
the way of giving you healing. God's way is the way of giving you wholeness.
God's way is the way of giving you rightness. God's way is the way of giving you
peace. To go God's way means you must use your might, use your will, and use
your heart to push in His direction and ask Him to help you forgive. When you
and God both push in the same direction, you win and you do not just even the
score into a tie, you do not just win by a slim margin…you win by smashing the
adversary back into the ground from where the adversary slithered forward to
bite you and poison you.
