Proverbs has much to say about our approach to evil and our enemies. As a young child, Solomon probably heard the stories over and over again about David fleeing from Saul when Saul was trying to kill him. He knew his father's approach to being persecuted and that may be reflected in his proverbs, but the sayings in these chapters reflect God's response to evil and our enemies as well. The response to evil and to those who would seek to harm us comes out of the state of our heart.
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off. - Prov. 23:17-18 NIV
Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him.
Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of the wicked,
for the evil man has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.- Prov. 24:17-20 NIV
Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll pay that man back for what he did." - Prov. 24:19 NIV
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the LORD will reward you. - Prov. 25:22-22 NIV
Don't envy, don't gloat, don't fret, don't try to get even. Instead, love your enemies, do good to those that persecute you. Does that sound familiar?
No comments:
Post a Comment