“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (Romans 12:14)
This cannot be the natural reaction of an average man.
It is indeed humanly impossible to bless those who are persecuting one or wishing one evil. Man naturally, will go around badmouthing people who are not nice to him. He will want to run them down, speak harshly about them and possibly persecute back. But this is what the Word tells us we don’t need to do and we should not do. Paul here, describes the kind of love we should show to people particularly those who are unfriendly, mean, maltreat or oppress us. Paul gives some very practical help on this.
In verse 17 Paul says, Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Later, in verse 19 he adds, Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, It is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. Revenge is one of the most natural of human responses to hurt, injury or bad attitudes. We always feel that, if we treat others according to the way they have treated us, we are only giving them justice. We can justify this so easily. “I’m only teaching them a lesson. I’m only showing them how I feel.” But have forgotten the many times you have injured others without getting caught yourself. But God hasn’t forgotten. This always puts us in the place of those Pharisees who, when the woman was taken in adultery, were ready to cast stones and stone her to death. Jesus came by and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone, (John 8:7). None could for obvious reasons.
Paul’s admonition is, Don’t try to avenge yourself. First, because God knows it and he is already doing something about it. Leave room for God’s wrath. Second, God alone claims the right to vengeance because he alone can work it without injury to all concerned. He will do it in a way that will be redemptive. We don’t give God a chance when we take the matter into our own hands. May the Lord teach you this hard lesson of blessing and loving those who have done us wrong.