The Reversal Of Revenge

Aaron Burr could have been a great name in American history. He was elected to the

U. S. Senate, and in 1800 he was a candidate for President of the U. S. Thomas Jefferson

won that election, and Aaron Burr became Vice President. His future was bright, but

then he was insulted by another famous political figure by the name of Alexander

Hamilton, and he challenged him to a duel. On July 11, 1804 two great leaders of our

land shot at each other, and Hamilton died. Burr got his revenge, but at enormous cost.

Revenge is sweet, but the bitterness that follows makes you realize what God was trying

to prevent by forbidding it. God's negatives are never because He wants to deprive you

of anything good, but to prevent you from suffering unnecessary evil.

Aaron Burr lost his popularity because of his sweet revenge. Nobody wanted to have

anything to do with him. He lost all his wealth, and he lived in obscurity and poverty for

29 years. He died alone in a hotel room in New York. Our nation lost 2 excellent leaders,

and they lost the opportunity to share their potential, and all because of the desire for

revenge. A different attitude in Burr's heart could have changed all of history, and made

him an honored figure of our American heritage. The facts of history demonstrate that

those who are compelled to get even tend to end up way behind. Revenge tends to back

fire.

A farmer was having trouble with a hawk preying on his chickens. One day he set a

trap and caught the thief. His desire for revenge motivated him to devise a cruel way to

punish the bird. He tied a stick of dynamite to the leg of the bird. He then lit the fuse

and let it go. Instead of flying into the air, however, the hawk flew into his barn, and the

exposition blew up his barn. His sweet revenge turned soar immediately.

If revenge was only a problem for unwise politicians and pest fighters, we could skip

this paragraph of Jesus. But we know Jesus has selected sins that would be common to

all men for all time. What this means is that few, if any, of us get through life without

being tempted to abuse the legitimate desire for justice, and pervert it into a lust for

revenge. Frank Hinkle wrote,

A fellerman had hurt me sore,

An fer a weak or mabbe more,

I set around and thought up ways

To even up the bloomin' score.

It has happened to the best. John Wesley as a young pastor in Georgia fell in love with

Sophia Hophey. He would not make up his mind regarding marriage, however, and so

she suddenly married another man. John was deeply wounded, but he made the big

mistake of using his power as a pastor to get even. He debarred Sophia from

communion, which was very important socially as well as spiritually. Her husband sued

Wesley, and a notice was posted for his arrest. He had to flee his ministry, and even the

country. He sailed back to England. He had to learn the hard way that you can't get

ahead by trying to get even.

Many, if not most, of the patients in mental hospitals are there because they have

become obsessed with resentment and revenge. Masses of the sicknesses and sorrows of

our world are due to the determination of men to respond to all offense with a spirit of

retaliation. Like James and John the sons of thunder, men want to call down fire from

heaven to show others they cannot get by with treating them with disrespect. Jesus

rebuked them and said they did not have his spirit. Jesus is not interested in revenge and

in getting even, for he knows this an illusion that can only lead to the story of the

Hatfields and the McCoys. It stands to reason that if the goal in life is to get even, then

after you have retaliated your foes have no choice but to strike again, for he now must

also get back at you and even up the score.

If you want to see how effective this method of dealing with conflict is, just look at the

history of the Middle East. That whole part of the world operates on the principle of

revenge. If you shoot me, I shoot you back. If you blow up my city, I blow up yours. If

your goal is to have hell on earth, you can hardly find a better road to travel than the

road of revenge. Given enough retaliation you can develop a nearly hopeless situation

where hate is the only language that is heard.

People are always saying that the way of Jesus is unrealistic, and it just won't work,