Sacrifices: When Making Sacrifices Grows Old
Part II: Revenge After Kindness Is Repaid With Evil
Scriptures: Psalm 109; Jeremiah 17:10; Proverbs 23:7; Matthew 15:18-20
Introduction:
I shared with you previously from Psalms 73 focusing on the writer’s frustration with the wicked prospering. In that passage of Scripture we learned that we cannot always interpret someone’s prosperity as their having God’s favor. In Psalms 73 the writer examined the question “Why does the wicked prosper and the righteous do not?” This question comes as we consider how God could allow the wicked to prosper while those who serve Him go through life with trials and tribulations. As I pointed out in that message it can become a very slippery slope when we begin to question the validity of serving God. This morning in part two of this series we will examine another Psalm pertaining to the treatment of the righteous.
This Psalm covey the deep emotions that all of us face when we have been wronged and that great desire we have to have that wrong revenged. Even though we understand that revenge is not the best choice for how Christ taught us to live as Christians, there are many times when we just want our justice. There are times when someone has hurt us so bad that we really want them to go through what they have put us through; to hurt as bad as we have been hurt. There are times when someone has betrayed us to the point that if we could, we would expose them for what they are. If we could we would choose to put all of their secrets out there just to prove the point that “what goes around, comes around.” We pride ourselves on proving the saying “don’t throw stones at someone else house if you too live in a glass house.” These sayings are often about revenge and that will be the focus of the message this morning.
When we have experienced betrayal in any form, from friends talking behind our backs to friends or strangers returning evil when we have done them good, it hurts. We go through the range of emotions thinking about how we could have ever trusted them. Those feelings of betrayal and hurt cut deep to the point that we do not want to trust others again. When we have the feelings for revenge, even though we are ashamed that they exist (sometimes anyway) we want our justice; to strike back; to get even. This is what we will witness with David this morning as he goes through a range of emotions after being betrayed and receiving evil for the good that he did. Turn to Psalm 109 and we will get started with David crying out to God.
I. I Stand Accused
“O God of my praise, do not be silent! For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without cause. In return for my love they act as my accusers; but I am in prayer. Thus they have repaid me evil for good and hatred for my love.” (Psalm 109:1-5)
In these first five verses, David pleads his case to God. He makes it clear that he wants God to do something for he has been wronged. Not only is he crying out to God, he is really demanding God to do something. Why would David feel this comfortable making this request of God? David understood that it was God who looked out for His people. When Moses brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt he wrote a song before his death. In that song which is found in Deuteronomy 32:35-36 David said this of God: “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution….For the Lord will vindicate His people.” There are three words in these verses that David was very familiar with. The first word is vengeance. Vengeance is defined as “the return of an injury for an injury.” The second word was retribution which is defined as “punishment for evil done or reward for good done.” The third word from these verses that David was very familiar with as part of God’s response to His people was vindicate. Vindicate is defined as “to clear from criticism, blame, etc; to justify.” David understood God and based on his own interactions with Him understood that God would come to his aid and render to his accusers just as they had rendered to him. This would be the same as “an eye for an eye.” He expected God to come to his aid and give to those people what they had given to him – to punish them for their wrongs towards him. He wanted God to punish those people for their evil, especially after he had done good to them. Finally he expected God to vindicate him. He expected God to prove to everyone that he did not deserve the treatment that he had been given. David has a three-fold expectation of God as it pertained to how he was treated. He expected God to revenge him, punished those that came against him and to clear his name. So this is what we find in the opening verses of Psalm 109 as David begins to plead his case.
As David cries out to God, he tells Him just was has been done to him. Although he wanted revenge, he was not in a position to take it himself, but he knew God could. As he described what had happened to him he states that they had spoken against him for no apparent reason, falsely accusing him. He received all of this after he had shown them goodness and love. Have you ever done something good for someone only to have them turn around and falsely accuse you? This happens all the time and the sad thing is that it often involves other people outside of the immediate relationship because of the rumor mill. We often say there are two sides to every story, but when someone falsely accuses you, the side that is believed is not always the side that is right. This is where David found himself. He was being accused and it appears that whatever the accusation, it was hard for him to defend himself. As we read further, he states that he has been surrounded by words of hatred; they have lied on him and fought against him without cause. What is important to see here is that it was not just one person but several. It is a small matter when someone accuses you of something to your face and you work it out between the two of you. However, what often happens is that the one who accuses you of something will not tell you, but go to others. They will go to those that they believe will not only support them, but believe the accusation is correct. At that point, the word begins to spread and others take on the cause and you finally get wind of it. Have you ever notice that truth travels at a snail’s pace but a good lie travels faster than light? David found that with the accusation, those who believe he was wrong turned their backs on him. Now for no apparent reason people he had loved were now accusing him. In the verses that follow, David begins to express what he is really feeling on the inside. Some of the things he says are very harsh. I will not read all of them, but let me read a few verses so that you get a flavor for how hurt and angry he was. When I read these, think about what he must have been going through; how much time he had spent thinking about the situations and having his revenge. Let’s start with verse six.
“Appoint a wicked man over him and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come forth guilty, and let his prayers become sin. Let his days be few; let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. Let his children wander about and beg; and let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes. Let the creditors seize all that he has, and let strangers plunder the product of his labor.” (Vs. 6-11)
When you read what David is requesting of God it really seems harsh. He is asking God to basically end his accusers’ lives. Not only does he ask for their lives, he also wants their children to suffer. This is coming from a man whom God described as having a heart like His. What could cause someone who was known for his music, praise and compassion to speak so harshly against his accusers? David was speaking from his pain; from his hurt. And apparently since he was asking God to return an eye for an eye his accusers must have been doing what they were doing in order to cause David to be ruined and ultimately his death. If this were to happen, the same thing that David was requesting of God against his accusers’ children would be the same thing his accusers’ were trying to bring about on his children. This was not a situation where someone accuses you of saying something you did not say. This was a life changing accusation that should it not come out favorable for David it could have cost him his life. Because of the seriousness of the situation, David had no where else to go God but to God. David goes on like this until the twentieth verse. In verse twenty-one, he begins to refocus on himself and his knowledge that God is for him and will take care of him. Look at what David says in verse twenty-one.
“But You, O God, the Lord, deal kindly with me for Your name’s sake; because Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me.” In this verse David says something that we need to fully understand when we are in similar situations. In David’s request, he tells God why he expected God to come to his aid. He tells God to do it for what? For “His name’s sake.” In other words David understood that how he came through this situation would reflect his relationship with God and would have an impact on God’s name. This is what it means when we do something for someone’s sake, we do it for their good. When God does something for “His name’s sake” He does it to preserve His name. David understood that God would come to his aid, not because David was commanding him to, but because God was a just God and David was being falsely accused. His enemies were coming against him as he stood in the position where God had placed him. God had a vested interest in how David came through this and David knew it. Do you understand that God has a vested interest in the things that you face and how you walk through them also reflects on Him? David also asks God to make it known that it was Him (God) who was delivering David. Verse 26-27 says “Help me, O Lord my God; save me according to Your lovingkindness. And let them know that this is Your hand; You, Lord, have done it.” David wanted God to make sure that his enemies know that it was Him who would be delivering him. This would be an important testimony for those who are on the sidelines witnessing what is happening to David.
After all is said and done, David ends the song with a promise of praise to God. He says, “With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord; and in the midst of many I will praise Him. For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.” How does this apply to us today?
II. True Revenge Lies Within Our Hearts
Revenge gives us a powerful motive to step into our flesh and feel justified in doing so, even if we know that what we are about to do is wrong in the eyes of God. Revenge starts in our hearts and this is the area where God judges us. Let me remind you of a couple of passages of Scripture about our hearts before I go any further.
God told Jeremiah “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10)
Solomon with all of his wisdom said “For as he thinks within himself, so he is…..” (Proverbs 23:7a)
Jesus said “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man…….” (Matthew 15:18-20a)
There are two points that I want to make quickly as it pertains to the verses I just read. First, when someone does us wrong those evil doings comes from the heart of the person. It is in the heart that these things start – where they are actually contrived. The second point that I want to make is that just as the evil starts within the heart, so does the desire for revenge. When we think about what we want to do in response to what was done to us, it starts in the heart. In our hearts we have the immediate response to “get even” or to forgive. It actually takes a lot more energy to get revenge than to forgive as we will spend a lot more time thinking about the different scenarios that the person who wronged us could find themselves in. This response is a part of our worldly flesh.
Let me give you an example. If you have ever been lied on, betrayed, cheated and slandered, what was the first thing that came to your mind after you processed the offense? Did you think “although that person just betrayed me I will forgive them” or did your mind go to “I cannot believe that so and so betrayed me like that, well two can play that game!” If your mind went to forgiveness it speaks to your spiritual maturity in Christ. However, if your mind went to “getting even or getting revenge” then that response also speaks to our maturity in Christ. You see, those initial responses that we have in our hearts, even if we do not immediately act on them, gives a glimpse of what is truly on the inside of us. If you want to get a good understanding of someone’s relationship with Christ, listen to them talk long enough about a hurtful situation or what their response is to being offended. It is during the times of offense that what is in our hearts will come to the surface. I have witnessed people that I’ve looked up to become heartless and go to extreme measures to get revenge when they were offended. I have witnessed people turning their backs on friends and putting all of their friend’s business in the street after they were offended. I have witnessed Christians forgetting that they were Christians when someone came at them the wrong way. I have witnessed Christians betraying their friends and their relatives if it meant their own self preservation or advancement. All of these examples spoke clearly to what was in the heart of a person. Maya Angelou said that if a person shows you the first time who they are, you should believe them. There is something to this saying.
Our desire for revenge rests in that part of us that needs to be renewed – it is a part of our flesh. It has remained such an active part of our flesh because we have been taught to get revenge. Let me give you an example. Jesus taught His disciples something about getting revenge. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-39: “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” Here is a perfect example of the “respectable and acceptable” way to exact revenge during Jesus times. Back in biblical times, as it is in some of our court rooms today, if someone hit you in the eye and caused you to lose your sight, you could take one of their eyes because they caused you to lose yours. The same applied to someone knocking out one of your tooth. These were just two examples that Jesus gave, but it applied to a whole list of offenses. This “world view of getting even” was taught and was an acceptable practice even among the very religious. But this was not how Jesus directed His disciples to respond. He told them to turn the other cheek. When someone slapped you, it was a major insult. The immediate response was to slap the person back, but Jesus taught that we should turn the other cheek. He told them to resist the evil person and in their resisting the evil, they did not become partakers of the evil in return. This is not what we have been taught or what we teach our children. In the name of “defending ourselves or our good name” we have been taught and subsequently taught our children to hit back. This was mostly applied to a physical confrontation but was also applied subconsciously to non-physical confrontations. This goes directly against what Jesus taught as an appropriate response for a Christian. We must understand as I told you last week, everything that we do matters and likewise it is the same with how we respond to being attacked unjustly.
Conclusion
When David wrote the song we find in Psalm 109, he wrote it out of a painful heart. He had been hurt by those whom he had shown love. He had come under attack by those he had tried to help and this attack was not only on him but would include his entire family if successful. David’s understanding that God had promised vengeance for His children asked God for help. When you read everything he said closely, he was asking God to do to them exactly what they were trying to do to him. He was not asking God to forgive them and help them understand that they were wrong; he was asking God to wipe them out as well as their whole families. What is so amazing in this request again is that David was called a man after God’s own heart. What does this tell us? It tells us that we are not immune to wanting revenge for when we have been wronged.
I shared with you earlier that revenge offers us a powerful motive to enter into sin and abandon what we know to be right in the eyes of God. Every one of us in this room and those of you reading this message one day will experience someone doing you wrong. When that day comes, it will be revealed to you how closely your spirit is aligned with God’s. If you find that you are one that will not allow someone to “speak you out” but will engage them and give to them what they are giving to you, consider your spirit. If you are one that teaches your children to hit back so that they will not be considered a weakling, consider your spirit. I say to you it takes more courage to walk away than it does to give someone a beat down. If you are one that when you have been wronged you sit around and think about scenarios where you can get even or prove to others the truth about the other person, consider your spirit. If you are quick to retaliate and slow to forgive and walk away, consider your spirit as I have had to do.
I have been used by friends who said they cared about me. I have been lied on, talked about, criticized and even accused. I have been called names, cussed out, told that I would never be a success in what I do. I have had people close to me betray me and then come right back up in my face smiling as if nothing happened. I have been on the receiving end of sneers, looks of disgust, and amazement that I continue to exist. In my past I would not take it and felt justified in getting even. If you did something to me, I did something back to you. You repeated something I told you in confidence then I was justified in repeating something you told me in confidence. That is the one of the reason I decided years ago that I would not own a gun. I could be one of those in a dangerous situation who would shoot first and then begin to ask the questions. However, the closer I got to God the more I understood that my reactions were not reactions of a justified spirit, but an immature spirit. In all situations, I can choose to walk with God or I can choose to follow my flesh, especially when it is convenient for me. Those choices and their consequences belong to me. Revenge is not ours to take and what is more important is that we must cleanse that thinking out of our hearts. In order for us to walk more closely with God, we must allow God to cleanse our hearts. Remember, God’s word says “For as he thinks within himself, so he is…..” How are you thinking? When you are making sacrifices for God and people are returning evil for the good that you did, just remember that God has not left your side and He will repay.
In preparation for part three of this series for next week, I want you to consider this question: Can your Christianity (how you personally live for Christ) be best described as a multiple choice question with more than one answer possibly being correct or as a true or false question with only one answer being correct?
Until next week, may God bless and keep you is my prayer.
