Who Doesn't Love Proverbs?

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Proverbs 24:29 – Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me; I will pay them back for what they have done to me.”

I flipped back to Proverbs for our devotional this week, and near the end, I found this little gem. If you’re ever bored, sit down and read part of Proverbs; it is full of interesting sayings, some of which make sense. This particular verse catches the eye, doesn’t it? At first glance, it appears to be the direct opposite of the teachings of Jesus.

But it’s not, is it? Jesus taught that we should treat other people the way we would want them to treat us, not the way they actually treat us. This verse from Proverbs reminds us that Jesus also taught us that if someone slaps us on one cheek, we should offer them the other one as well.

It’s very easy to be nice to people who are nice to us. But as Jesus says, “even sinners” do that (Luke 6:32). The trick of following Christ is to love those who don’t love us, to be nice and polite and forgiving and gracious to those who treat us badly or unfairly or meanly or rudely. The human desire for revenge can be very strong. And as the writer of Proverbs knew, we have the tendency to dress it up by pretending that we’re really interested in fairness, in something we would call justice, in people getting “what they deserve”.

Don’t do it, Proverbs says. Just don’t. It’s not the way of God. It’s not the way of Jesus. It may seem “fair”, but fair isn’t up to us. We are in charge of neither judgment nor sentencing. Fortunately, the grace of God can make it easier for us to let go of our need for revenge. The more we ground ourselves in God’s life-giving mercy, the more than mercy will flow through us and from us, into our interactions with even the most difficult people.

Collect for the Week: God of Grace and Love, who has already forgiven us over and over and will continue to do so eternally, grant that we might be filled to overflowing with the love of Christ so that we might treat each person we meet with grace no matter how they treat us, and thus be witnesses to your redeeming love. Through Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit, Amen.