Romans 12:19 "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God..."

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

Question:

Why does God make this command that we not seek revenge against others who have hurt us?

Comment:

Paul is here quoting Deuteronomy 32:35, but I think the old, familiar words take on a deeper meaning in the wake of the message and example of Jesus Christ. The implication in Deuteronomy is that God will wreak a greater vengeance on our behalf than we could manage by ourselves. And it’s God’s job, not ours, to mete out punishment.

That is no less spiritually true today, but as in all things, Jesus calls us to see it from a different, more loving perspective. Our limited human consciousness is incapable of seeing the totality of this human experience. Have you ever had the experience of feeling outraged and injured by something someone did, only to realize at a later time—and from a different perspective—that it really worked out for your good? Or that they had no intention of doing you harm, but were simply doing the best they could do at the time?  These are indications of why we can’t rely on our human consciousness to pass judgment and wreak vengeance on our behalf.  

Now, the divine perspective that allows us to always see the love is not a distant godly being, but the Christ within us. And so metaphysically we understand this passage to be calling us to always, always turn to the Christ perspective for a clear understanding of the energies that are flowing through our lives. Certainly there are people making fear-based, negative choices that can cause us pain. Those choices will have fearful, negative consequences—not as punishment, but as opportunities to grow in spiritual awareness and to make more loving choices next time. If we turn away from Christ consciousness and engage in fearful, negative reprisals, we are simply subjecting ourselves to the same kind of negative energies. Love is always the best, most comfortable and most efficient choice.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed