An Uncomfortable But Honest Prayer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate,
    and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
    but I give myself to prayer.
5 So they reward me evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.

6 Appoint a wicked man against him;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few;
    may another take his office!
9 May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
10 May his children wander about and beg,
    seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
    nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off;
    may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
    and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Let them be before the LORD continually,
    that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

16 For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued the poor and needy
    and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it soak into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
    of those who speak evil against my life!

21 But you, O God my Lord,
    deal on my behalf for your name's sake;
    because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow at evening;
    I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting;
    my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they wag their heads.

26 Help me, O LORD my God!
    Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is your hand;
    you, O LORD, have done it!
28 Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
    may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
    I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. – Psalm 109:1-31 ESV

One word comes to mind when I read a psalm like this: Uncomfortable, or maybe even shocking. I read it and am surprised that these words came from the pen of David, the man after God's own heart. But here they are for all to see and read in all their black and white glory.

May his children become fatherless,
    and his wife a widow.
May his children wander as beggars
    and be driven from their ruined homes.
May creditors seize his entire estate,
    and strangers take all he has earned.
Let no one be kind to him;
    let no one pity his fatherless children.
May all his offspring die. – Psalm 109:9-13 NLT

To say that David is feeling vindictive would be a mild understatement. He is incensed, and his words are incendiary. Remember, this is a song, and is addressed to the choirmaster. It was meant to be sung and performed as an act of worship. Yet, it is filled with shockingly blunt and surprisingly hateful petitions aimed at an unnamed enemy of David. 

Psalm 109 is what is known as an imprecatory prayer. It is a prayer for evil or misfortune to come upon someone else, usually an enemy. In the Bible, an imprecatory prayer is the prayer of a righteous man asking God to carry out justice by bringing punishment or destruction on those who have done evil and mistreated or abused him. A first read of this Psalm can be a little disconcerting.

David's requests are severe and seem motivated by extreme hatred. He is obviously upset and has been suffering greatly at the hands of this enemy. David doesn't disclose the identity of his enemy, but he wishes nothing but ill will against them. He makes it painfully clear what he wants God to do to them. He basically wants him dead, leaving his wife a widow and his children little more than beggars.

Is David wrong for praying this prayer? Is he letting his anger get the best of him? If so, why does God include this psalm in the Bible?

While David's requests may make us uncomfortable, we can probably relate at some level. We have all had similar thoughts concerning someone in our lives. Perhaps we never put those ideas into the form of a prayer, but we definitely conjured up images of those individuals getting their just desserts. We may not have been quite as harsh as David, but we likely wanted to see some kind of harm come to the one who had harmed us.

This is a purely human reaction. We want revenge and desire vengeance to be done. This is not necessarily wrong, especially if what was done to us is truly evil and sinful. But David knew something we all need to know: Vengeance is God's business, not ours. That is why David took his issue to God. 

Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me because of your unfailing love.
Let them see that this is your doing,
    that you yourself have done it, LORD. – Psalm 109:26-27 NLT

I think there is a point at which David knew that what this person had done to him was in direct opposition to the will of God. David had shown them love, and their response had been evil.

I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
    even as I am praying for them!
They repay evil for good,
    and hatred for my love. – Psalm 109:4-5 NLT

Their actions were sinful and ungodly, and David knew that God was opposed to everything they had done to him. So he took his case to the Lord, pleading for justice in the form of vengeance. He was familiar with God's declaration found in the Book of Deuteronomy.

“Is not this laid up in store with me,
    sealed up in my treasuries?
Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
    for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
    and their doom comes swiftly.” – Deuteronomy 32:34-35 ESV

This passage is part of another song, written by Moses near the end of the Israelites' 40-year journey from Egypt to the promised land. The elderly liberator and leader of God's chosen people is nearing the end of his own earthly journey and preparing the people of Israel for their conquest of Canaan. He would not be going with them, and so he pens this epic poem to remind them of their need to leave behind their apostasy and idolatry and obey God. His record of God's promise of vengeance was directed at the people of Israel, not their enemies. Moses was warning them that God would not tolerate their infidelity and unfaithfulness. Their successful conquest of the land would require obedience and obeisance, their willing submission to God's will. 

But David had a different kind of vengeance in mind that was not self-directed but other-oriented. He was asking God to vindicate him by turning the tables on his enemy and giving him a taste of his own medicine. Basically, David was asking God to let this man reap what he sowed.

It gets really uncomfortable for most of us when David starts asking for bad things to happen to the guy's wife and kids. This seems a bit extreme. But this does not mean David had unbridled hatred for the man's family. It only reveals David's understanding of how things worked in their society. These were the natural consequences of life in the culture of David's day. A man and his offspring were inseparably linked. The actions of one directly influenced the other. This man's sins and punishment would be felt by his wife, children, and ancestors. That was the way things worked in their society. So David is praying for the natural consequences of this man's deserved punishment.

David knew God hated sin and injustice, so his prayer was not inappropriate or sinful. He was simply expressing a hatred for sin that mirrored that of God. He wanted to see God's will done. Sure, he was not shy in expressing his own opinion as to what that will should be, but at the end of the day, he wanted to see God mete out justice and vengeance on someone he believed to be an enemy of God.

But what balances this psalm out is David's request that God express His love and faithfulness to him.

But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD,
    for the sake of your own reputation!
Rescue me
    because you are so faithful and good. – Psalm 109:21 NLT

David understood that God wanted to bless the righteous and punish the wicked. That is what this prayer is all about. It is a request for God to be God, and do what only God can do. Only God could rescue David and turn the evil that this person intended into a blessing. Only God could punish this individual justly and righteously, returning on him the kind of evil he had been dishing out.

Imprecations are effective only when we see sin from God's point of view and ask Him to deal with it according to His Word. David was simply praying back to God what he knew to be true about His character and His divine outlook on sin. David was praying for the kind of punishment for sin God had already expressed as proper and just.

The most crucial point is that David prayed with a pure, innocent heart. He had done nothing to deserve the treatment he had received. He was innocent, which is critical when praying an imprecatory prayer. Had David been guilty of mistreating this man, his prayers would have been improper and unheeded by God. But he stood guiltless before God and suffered unjustly, so he knew God would intervene. God protects His own. He defends His sheep.

David's prayer came from a firm understanding of who God was and what He stood for. This song is much more than an expression of hatred for his enemy. His prayer was driven by a desire to see justice done and for God to intervene.

I will give repeated thanks to the LORD,
    praising him to everyone.
For he stands beside the needy,
    ready to save them from those who condemn them. – Psalm 109:30-31 NLT

David wanted to see God's will done and His power manifested to all those around him. God's glory was David's foremost desire, and he was willing to wait on God to intercede on his behalf. He believed justice would be done, and he was ready to praise God even before the deliverance became a reality.

Father, give me a hatred for evil that is more powerful than my hatred for any particular individual and what they might do to me. May I learn to see any injustice done to me as an injustice done to You. This is more about You than me. May I learn to desire Your glory by seeing Your will be done – in my life and circumstances. Give me a greater understanding of Your hatred of evil and the manner in which You punish it, so that I might pray according to Your will and not mine. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Subtle Snare of Self-Salvation.

And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. – 1 Samuel 25:32-38 ESV

David knew the hand of God when he saw it. As he and his men stood there with their weapons at the ready, prepared to wipe out Nabal and every male in his household, Abigail had showed up with a gift of food and a word of wise counsel. She had bowed down before David and begged his forgiveness. And she appealed to David to refrain from doing something he would later regret. Nabal was a fool. He was insignificant and not worth the time and effort it would take to enact revenge. She wisely warned David, “When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel,  don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance” (1 Samuel 25:30-31 NLT).

Her words struck a chord with David. They were like a cold glass of water thrown in his face, waking him up to the reality and danger of what he was about to do. And he was grateful, not only to her, but to God for having sent her. “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today!” (1 Samuel 25:32 NLT). He knew this was a God-ordained encounter with Abigail. He clearly sensed that God had sent her to prevent him from doing something he would later regret. Killing Nabal would have been an act of vengeance, but not an act of God. David had not sought out or received any word from God to take the life of Nabal or anyone else. But the temptation of self-salvation and taking revenge on those who offend us always lingers within us. David had been offended by a rich fool and he was man enough to do something about it. But a man after God’s own heart would leave vengeance up to the Lord. And that is exactly what Abigail reminded David of. God had bigger plans for David. He was going to be the next king of Israel. Nabal was a bump in the road on the way to the throne room, and David would be better off letting God deal with him.

It’s interesting to note that when David had been given the opportunity to kill Saul, he had refrained from doing so. He even told Saul, “May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you” (1 Samuel 24:12 ESV). At that point, David had been willing to leave the judgment of Saul in the hands of God. But when it came to Nabal, David had suddenly determined to take matters into his own hands. Only the words of Abigail prevented David from doing the unthinkable and committing an act of fratricide against fellow Jews.

And when David heard the words of Abigail, he immediately recognized the gravity of what he had been about to do. He said to her,  “Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands” (1 Samuel 25:33 NLT). There is the key to understanding this exchange between Abigail and David. His sin was not his anger with Nabal, but his desire to carry out vengeance against Nabal with his own hands. What he was about to do was an act of self-salvation, but not self-preservation. Nabal was no threat to David. All he had done was offend David by treating him with contempt and disrespect. He had hurt David’s pride. And David had been willing to slaughter Nabal and everyone associated with him in a needless act of revenge.

It’s interesting to note that, years later, when David was king, he would have another opportunity to take revenge on someone who treated him with disdain and disrespect. It was when his son, Absalom, had taken over Jerusalem and David had been forced to flee for his life. On his way out of town, he had been confronted by a man named Shimei, a member of the clan of Saul. As David and his men made their way out of the city, he threw stones at them and loudly cursed David.

“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!” – 2 Samuel 16:7-8 NLT

David’s men offered to kill Shimei, but David restrained them, saying:

“My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” – 2 Samuel 16:11-12 NLT

David’s encounter with Abigail had taught him a valuable lesson: To leave vengeance in the hands of God. He was to do nothing without God’s expressed permission. Taking Nabal’s life might have assuaged David’s damaged pride, but it would have done far more damage to his reputation. It would appear from studying the life of David, that he was a man prone to impulsive behavior. He was susceptible to giving in to his inner impulses and failing to think things through. His affair with Bathsheba is a case in point. He let his physical passions override his reasoning. He saw her and he wanted her. So, he took her. He didn’t think it through. And when his actions got him in trouble and she became pregnant, he threw reason to the wind, and went into self-preservation mode. He attempted to cover up his indiscretion with a carefully thought-out plan to have Uriah, he husband returned from war so that it might appear that the child was his. And when is efforts failed, his self-preservation efforts escalated and he had Uriah murdered, so he could take Bathsheba as his wife.

Self-salvation is tempting, but it never turns out like we were expecting. Taking matters into our own hands may feel good for the moment, but the repercussions can be devastating. Too often, our desire for revenge is based on nothing more than our own damaged pride. There is no real threat to our safety, but we find ourselves offended by something someone has said to us or about us. Perhaps it’s a rumor that someone has spread falsely representing us. It could be a simple case of someone showing us disrespect or treating us in a way we find distasteful. Our first impulse is to get even, to teach them a lesson. But what would God have us do? How would He prefer we respond? For David, the best course of action was no action at all. He was to leave Nabal in God’s hands. Rather than seeking revenge on Nabal, he was to rest in the sovereign will of God.

Jesus gave us some similar advice in the Beatitudes.

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.” – Matthew 5:38-42 NLT

We are to be driven by a bigger purpose than our own self-salvation and preservation. God has bigger plans for us than worrying about what others think and wasting out time attempting to protect our reputations. God had greater plans for David than eliminating a fool who happened to offend him. There were greater enemies to fight. There were much more significant wars for David to wage. He was to leave Nabal in God’s hands. And because he did, David would see God deal with Nabal as only God could. When Abigail told Nabal all that had happened and how David had been planning to come and destroy him, “he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck him, and he died” (1 Samuel 25:37-38 NLT). God avenged David. God dealt with Nabal. And David learned that the salvation of God is preferable to self-salvation every time.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Seeing the God Who Sees All.

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. – Esther 8:1-2 ESV

Over in the book of Deuteronomy, we read the following description of God:

I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God! He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! – Deuteronomy 32:3-4 NLT

The truly unique attribute about the story of Esther is that God is nowhere mentioned in the book, but His presence can be seen and felt as the narrative unfolds. He is portrayed as the faithful God who does no wrong. He works invisibly, but invincibly behind the scenes, orchestrating His plan and asserting His will on the lives of men, including those who do not believe He exists. God has been actively involved throughout the story of Esther and Mordecai. He is the one who put Esther on the throne of Persia. He was behind the seeming coincidence that allowed Mordecai to discover the plot against the king. He was the cause behind the king’s insomnia and his request to have the royal record read to him in hope that it might lull him to sleep. God had been witnessing the actions of Haman. He knew his heart and was well aware of his hatred for Mordecai and the people of Israel. While it may have appeared that God was out of sight and out of touch with all the events unfolding in Persia, He was actually in complete control. And He had a plan already in place to deal with not only Haman, but the king’s decree.

Later on in the the same chapter in the book of Deuteronomy, we read:

The Lord says, “Am I not storing up these things, sealing them away in my treasury? I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.” – Deuteronomy 32:34-35 NLT

God is always watching. Like a divine accountant, He is documenting every deposit and withdrawal. He knows the heart of every man. He sees their every action and knows the motivation behind all that they do or don’t do. And while it may appear that God is blind to our predicament and unaware of the injustices being heaped upon us, unlike King Ahasuerus, He is fully cognizant of all that goes on in His kingdom. And God has a just outcome in store for every individual who rises up against His rule or raises a hand against His people.

When we find ourselves going through difficulty, it is sometimes easy to assume that God is not there or that He does not care. We react like the psalmist.

O Lord, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth! Arise, O judge of the earth. Give the proud what they deserve. How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? They crush your people, Lord, hurting those you claim as your own. They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. “The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.” – Psalm 94:1-7 NLT

But our perspective gets skewed. Our circumstances blind us to the ways of God. We get so busy looking at our difficulties, that we lose the ability to see God working in our midst. So the psalmist goes on to remind us of God’s ever-constant presence. And he warns the wicked that God knows all and sees all.

Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on? Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes? He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing? The Lord knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless! – Psalm 94:8-11 NLT

It is as if the psalmist knew about Haman long before he was even born.

Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—leaders whose decrees permit injustice? They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide. God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for their sins. The Lord our God will destroy them. – Psalm 94:20-23 NLT

And God dealt with Haman, a leader whose decrees permit injustice, by turning his sins back on him. He was destroyed for his sins. And, at the same time, Esther and Mordecai were rewarded. Esther was given the property of Haman. Mordecai was given the king’s signet ring, the symbol of his power and authority, which had previously been given to Haman. And Esther put her uncle, Mordecai, in charge of all the Haman’s vast estate and wealth. The tables had turned. The wicked were defeated. The righteous were blessed.

But while the story of Esther has a happy ending, we must be careful not to assume that every situation and circumstance works out with a perfect fairy tale ending. Stephen, while preaching the gospel, was brutally stoned and murdered by an angry mob. Paul spent much of his adult life in prison as a result of his ministry on behalf of Christ. John was exiled to the island of Patmos by the Roman government because of his persistent preaching of the gospel. We would be wrong to assume that things always turn out right. The Christian faith has always had its martyrs. There are countless believers all across the world who are suffering for their faith at this very moment. Many of them will die as a result of their faith in Christ. But that does not change the fact that God is in control. He knows what He is doing. He has a plan and He will bring it about in His perfect timing and according to His perfect will. We may not understand it or even like it, but we can trust that whatever happens is within the just and righteous providence of God. For Esther and Mordecai, the story has a happy ending. But while some may experience pain, suffering, lose and even death, it does not mean that God is not working.

The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession. Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it. – Psalm 94:14-15 NLT

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A Radically Different Life.

Romans 12:17-21

If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. – Romans 12:20 NLT

Paul continues to offer his readers practical application of the theological truths he has unpacked for the last 11 chapters. This is where-the-rubber-meets-the-road kind of stuff. He is giving them everyday applications of what it means to live in freedom from sin, forgiven, justified, filled with the Spirit and as a recipient of God's marvelous grace. Our vertical relationship with God, restored by the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, must be matched by a change in our horizontal relationships – including the ones we have with believers and unbelievers. And what Paul lays out is a radically different version of life on this planet than what most of us know or experience.

First, he tells us to refrain from responding to wrong with more wrong. "Never pay back evil with more evil" (Romans 12:17 NLT). But isn't that they normal human response. It's almost a reflex action. We inherently react to anything done to us that we consider harmful or hurtful with more of the same. It's a natural human defense mechanism. "You hurt me and I'll hurt you!" But Paul reminds us that life for the Christian is to be different – radically so. Rather than respond to evil with more evil, we are to "Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody" (Romans 12:17b NIV). Our concern should be for our witness, not revenge. Elsewhere, Paul tells us to "Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity" (Colossians 4:5 NLT). In fact, we are to go out of our way to live in harmony and peace with all men. This does not mean that we are to seek peace at all costs or to refrain from having convictions when it comes to the truth of God and the integrity of the Word of God. There will be occasions where we must stand up for what we know to be right, and that will result in conflict. But overall, we are to pursue a life of harmony and peace with all men – whether they are believers or not.

At the end of the day, revenge is to be left up to God. Our job is not to seek revenge or to demand justice for all the wrongs done to us. No, Paul reminds us that our ministry is one of reconciliation. "For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT). Our job is to call people back to God. Rather than revenge, we are to seek reconciliation, restoration and redemption. How do we even remotely begin to do that? Paul gives us a glimpse at the answer. "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink" (Romans 12:19-20 NLT). What a radically different approach to conflict resolution than what the world offers. Instead of responding in hate, we are to express love. Rather than seeking to get even, we are to give sacrificially. While this method of dealing with enemies may appear to be a bit naive and unrealistic, it's intention is to bring shame and conviction on those whose intent it is to harm us. Rather than justify their hatred for us, we convict them by responding in a way that does not fit with their perception or expectation of us. Jesus said very similar words in His sermon on the mount. "But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you" (Luke 6:27-31 NLT). This is the "Golden Rule." It is a picture of life lived according to God's standard and not the world's.

We have been called to a different kind of life, marked by a different set of standards. Paul closes this chapter with the words, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good" (Romans 12:21 NLT). Rather than give in to the temptation to respond to evil with more evil, and fulfill the expectations of our enemy and meet the standards of this fallen world, we are to react with sacrificial, selfless love. But isn't that impossible? Only if we attempt to do it in our own strength. But God has given us His Spirit and His Word to empower and equip us with all that we need to live radically different lives in a world that desperately needs a dose of reconciliation.

Father, this is hard stuff to read. And it's even harder to live out in real life. But I know You have given us all that we need to live in a way that is pleasing to You. We have the power to live radically different lives. Continue to change us and motivate us to live radical, revolutionary lives. Help us live like Christ lived. Help us love like Christ loved. Help us sacrifice like He did. All for Your glory and, ultimately, the good of man. Amen.