Q & A: Is There Something Deeper to Repaying Evil with Good?
Proverbs 25:21, 22 reads, “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.” The application is often that you ought to repay good for evil, and that is a general interpretation. But there is a spiritual interpretation. In Romans 12:20 we read, “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” The whole thought throughout this passage is this: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19). The minute a Christian takes it into his hands to get revenge or get even, he has become the judge and is no longer walking by faith. Rather, he is saying to the world and also to the Lord, “I’ll handle this my own way.” The pathway of faith is to turn your enemy over to God. You and I are walking by faith when we say, “Lord, the enemy has hurt and wounded me, and I turn this over to you.” The Lord will handle it, and you can know that He’s going to handle it in a right manner. He’ll do the judging of the individual – you don’t do it. He’s going to make every wrong right, friends. He’s got a lot of things to take care of that have happened in the past. He’s going to take care of them someday, so turn it over to Him. That’s the pathway of faith.