WE have not been created to live in isolation from each other, but rather that we live in a society, and live for the happiness of that society. Originally God created human beings to live in society together, in mutual love, cooperation and peace. When Adam sinned that original purpose of God was destroyed and put on hold. It was purposed to return after the Messiah had come, and be perfected in heaven. In the world it is the norm to repay evil for evil. It is felt equitable for a person to take revenge and pay back. The heart of worldly society is self and self's well-being. Even in the most altruistic of people in the world, self still dominates. We see it in people defending their own patch against that which would destroy their personal quality of life. We see it in people demanding higher wages, and defending any reduction to their standard of living, and doing this in whatsoever situation may cause the need for austerity. Approval is given to the need for austerity but self wishes to be excluded. The rich defend their right to be rich and keep their riches to themselves.

In Christ the original purpose of God is meant to be the norm for the new society of the redeemed, and this should be part of the witness of the church to the world. Only those who are redeemed through faith in Christ and raised to new life in him can begin to approach the sort of society which is God's purpose, and this is because only those who are Christ's people have that new life raised up in them which was lost when Adam sinned, and have new life created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are hindered in this by the old self which remains selfish as any in the world, but we have the new self, by which we have holy and loving aspirations by which we seek to be Christlike and put to death the desires of the old self.

Paul is showing us the attitude to others in society which must be the living of the Christian. This must be seen in the society of the world, but it must first be seen in the fellowship of the faithful, who are Christ's disciples. Much of church life is marred by the spirit of the world entering, where revenge and retaliation is the norm. Paul addresses this problem with exhortation and practical advice.

The way of the Christian is opened up by Paul with the call to cease to retaliate, pay back, take revenge when we are wronged, or people deal with us in an evil way. Paul then opens this theme up in showing how the Christian should react in such situations where we may be tempted to retaliate. We may say that such an injunction needs no explanation, and that it is self evident, and Christians must not retaliate. However, if we are honest with ourselves, then we know it is not as simplistic as this. The very fact Paul urges us to avoid revenge tells us that in most if not all, the problem of revenge will impinge upon us, and be a big issue, and we need therefore to heed Paul's words here, so that in the event of an evil day when we are moved to retaliation, we may find ourselves able, by the grace of God, to show a spirit of love and peace, and not take revenge or seek restitution.

The first thing in this fight to live at peace says the apostle is to "be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody." Here is the core of the problem of revenge and retaliation. The desire for revenge is caused by the experience of evil done to us by other people. Now a person may act in an evil way towards us without a cause, but in the majority of cases the cause of our experience of evil from others can be traced to the way we have behaved. It is amazing how aggression is dormant when people are treated with consideration, politeness, kindness, affirmation and with value. A person may be behaving badly in our company. If we react in an angry and accusing way, then it will invariably produce aggression in the that person towards us. What is the Christian way. We seek to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If our behaviour is exemplary, showing Christ's love, forbearance, and kindness, then others will have no cause against us, and will usually relate to us in the way we have related to them in Christ. A soft answer turns away wrath. Paul also says we must do right in the eyes of everyone. The love of Christ in us must be seen by others. If it is not, then it will do little good. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8: 21 "For we are to take pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men."

The next part of Paul's instruction as to how a Christian should behave in society follows directly from what he has already said. Paul writes “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” How wise are Paul's words here. He acknowledges that it is not always possible to avoid confrontation and hostility from others. Paul recognises this, and acknowledges that if we find ourself in conflict it is not necessarily our fault, and sometimes beyond any effort on our part to resolve. However what Paul does press upon us is to make sure that we are not the cause of the problem. We should make sure we live at peace with others. When Paul says "as far as it depends on you" he is telling us two things. In the first place we must make sure that in all our relations with others we are careful not to be the cause of conflict. In the second place we should be active in promoting peace and harmony. The Christian can't say well I was not the cause of the problem, so it is up to the other person to take the initiative and say they are sorry. No! Paul is telling us that we must be ready to take the initiative in seeking peace. This will mean loving however much it may go against the grain and hurt. This will mean being ready to apologise to the others even when we are unable to see that we have anything to apologise for. The point is that the one with whom we may be in conflict will most certainly feel we need to apologise for wrong he or she feels there has been in our action and behaviour. This is extraordinarily hard, but the love of Christ to us constrains us to love whatever the cost. Standing up for our rights and retaliation is of the devil. It is not the mind of Christ.

Then comes the command of the apostle. He commands, “Do not take revenge.” This is a command where there is no room to wriggle or make excuses. The Christian must never take revenge. History shows the wisdom of this. When Christians have sought revenge the result has always been bad, and only makes things worse. We have only to look out on our world today to see this. One glaring example is the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Each side is always seeking revenge, and in every case it never produces good but always makes matters worse.

Paul tells us the Christian way. It is to leave God to settle the matter. Only God has the right to repay wrong. He is the only one who can judge in any conflict and see truly and rightly the whole matter, and so make true judgement. God is the only one who is wise enough to be able to understand any conflict or situation, and so judge rightly. In any event only God has the right to express wrath against wrong. Only God has the right to punish evil and reward good.

To leave all to God is not easy. So often we take the matter to the Lord, and ask him to bring peace, and time goes by and peace does not come, but rather the evil against us, instead of diminishing, seems to get worse, until we lose faith and patience and seek to take the matter into our own hands. In this situation we need to remember to retaliate never brings good, and remember that only in leaving things to the Lord will there be any hope of resolution. The words of Jesus to the Pharisees when they brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to him is instructive. Jesus said that he who was without sin should take the stone to punish the woman. The fact is whatever the sin of another to us, we can't say that we have any right to judge or retaliate, because our sins call for punishment as great as for anyone else.

Quoting from Scripture (Proverbs 25: 21,22) Paul tells us what the way the Christian should react to evil done towards him or her. Instead of retaliation and revenge, the Christian must go out of his way to do the exact opposite. Instead of seeking to hurt an enemy, we must seek to love them. This will be seen in the actions we take toward them. If an enemy is hungry, we actively seek to relieve that hunger by feeding him. If our enemy is thirsty we must give them something to quench their thirst.

The result will be found to be amazing. The result of kindness to our enemies is expressed in the words "you will heap burning coals on their head." What does this mean? Surely it means that good done for evil is more likely to cause the conflict to cease, because by this means the enemy is caused to reflect on their aggression, and possibly be made to feel guilty, and so cease their enmity, and seek peace and friendship. Of course there are many people who seem to have no better side to their character, and will continue in their enmity. But in many cases the result of kindness will bring a positive reaction in the enemy which is a feeling of guilt for their behaviour, and a genuine desire to put an end to the revenge.

Paul sums up the whole of his teaching with the telling and cogent phrase - "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." It is something we do not sufficiently realise that when we seek to take revenge we are being overcome by evil. In taking revenge we are allowing evil to rule us and dominate us, and we are already defeated and powerless. However foolish the world may consider the teaching of Jesus to turn the other cheek, yet it is the way of strength and victory. Doing good is a very powerful weapon, which in the end always overcomes.