Pay Back

2 Timothy 4:14 ESV

“Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.”

I have discovered a long time ago that paybacks of devious or harmful deeds are not worth it. Someone who would be considered not my friend, may have wanted to do harm to me or say something about me that was hurtful, but it is not my nature to return the deed in kind to them.

Through the years I have even had friends say things that hurt me, believing they were being cute or funny. They may have enjoyed themselves, but I did not enjoy the comments. None-the-less, I realized long ago that returning a bad deed was not to my credit. It would be to my shame and I would be no better than they were if I did return insult for insult.

I have a friend that brings up somethings in my past, and they believe that it was funny, but I despise those things now, I certainly do not want to be reminded of those things. I have overlooked the comments and the laughter, but it does burn inside. I do not wish my friend harm, but I will continue to let it go and allow God to repay them for their words.

Our past is just that, past. The people that have hurt us, for one reason or another, felt like they were justified in their actions. We do not need to let those things hold us down, hold us back, or allow them to grow in us like a cancer and eventually do us harm internally. Hand them over to Jesus, let Him judge and repay them for their deeds.

Prayer:

Lord, payback for evil is not what You want us to do. You have said, “…Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19). For those who have hurt us, help us to let them go and give them to You, not seeking their harm, but releasing ourselves of the cancer that they have caused. You have said through Paul, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil” (Romans 12:17a), and “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Let us be the Christians, the influencers that You want us to be, Amen!