Overcoming The World Series

You see, if we curse those who curse us, how do we overcome the evil of the world? We actually simply perpetuate evil. We are to overcome evil with good, as even Jesus did for us when He died for the very people who were crucifying Him, paying the penalty for our sin as we were involved in the greatest crime in all of history. We don’t only refrain from vengeance, but we are to actively bless and seek the good of our persecutors instead

I was talking to someone who had recently visited our church for the first time. It turned out he knew several of the people who were part of our church family. However, his prior experiences with all the people he had previously known in our church as it turns out, had not been entirely cordial. In fact, he admitted that he had been tempted to punch one of them out at one time or another, but had decided instead to pray for him, even as Christ has called us to do here. And he was pleasantly surprised to find that those prayers had apparently been answered as he was able to greet this member of the church no longer as an enemy, but no as a brother--perfect example of how we overcome the world and it’s evil—not by punching our enemies out, or by cursing them, but praying for them instead.

Now the next couple verses seem a bit unrelated, at first glance. I have always applied them to how we are to treat other believers. But Paul could especially have unbelievers in mind. When they treat us badly, it might be difficult for us to be happy when they’re happy and sad when they’re sad. But rather than treat the world in accord with a self-centered, devil-may-care attitude, or even with any form of malice, as well as believers, with great sympathy, empathy and mercy, even as Christ has been merciful to us.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.”

Now imagine your natural inclinations toward someone who had treated you badly or persecuted you. When things go badly for him, wouldn’t you tend to rejoice, and say, “Alright! It’s about time! He’s getting what’s coming to him.” On the other hand, would you naturally be bugged if someone who treated you badly succeeded or was somehow honored. The temptation would be to do just the opposite for your enemy: To sorrow when He rejoices and rejoice when He experiences sorrow.”

We sometimes struggle to rejoice with those who rejoice, especially when they are honored and succeed in ways that we haven’t. Our selfish ambition and our pride often gets in the way. Our tendency in the natural is to secretly envy the other person, not wishing him them well, because their success reflects negatively on our lack of success. Why can I speak so authoritatively on this? Because it’s my experience, my temptation.

And how we weep with those who weep is important as well. A little girl lost a playmate in death. One day she told her parents that she had gone to comfort the grieving mother. “What did you say?” her parents asked. “Nothing,” she replied. “I just climbed up on her lap and cried with her.” She was a wise comforter!