8.14.24
This week we are looking at the subject of violence. Where does it come from and what do we do about it? So far we’ve seen that the main two sources of violence are polytheism and religion - two opposing extremes. The first creates an environment where the very nature of the world is inherently chaotic and violent, since there is no single truth and all “gods” are desperately competing for attention. The second breeds a heart of self-righteous validation through right living, which necessitates looking down on those who are not keeping up.
So what do we do about it? How do we deal with and overcome the violence of this world and of our own hearts? The two wrong strategies are to seek vengeance or to sweep it under the rug with resignation. So what DO we do? And the simple answer the Bible gives us is: forgiveness.
But forgiveness is far more complicted than it might seem at first. Forgiveness is not the same as resignation: just letting it go. Rather, it’s the biblical concept of overcoming evil with good. The key principle in dealing with the violence and unforgiveness of our own hearts is to get rid of your anger and hate BEFORE you attempt to deal with the wrong doer. In vengeance, you deal with your anger AS you deal with the wrong doer. And with resignation, you deal with your hate and anger by avoiding the wrong doer. But in biblical forgiveness, you deal with your own hate and anger before you address the wrong doer.
Tomorrow we will look at “how” you address your own anger first. But for now, just remember how your own experience with forgiveness often means that you’re lashing out in retribution while you’re dealing with the one who has wronged you. And the results are usually the same: the hate only spreads, as they feel victimized by our “over-reach” in trying to pay back evil with greater evil.
For others, it seems the “Christian” thing to do to simply drop the offense and let it go. But offenses never disappear into the mist. We all know what it’s like to have the volcano of stuffed frustrations find their boiling point and blow up all over the place. Even worse, by burying and ignoring the hurts from others, we’ve done nothing to make the world a better place by dealing with that hurtful behavior. They are now free to continue to unleash their evil practices on the rest of the world.
When it comes to evil and violence, we are selfish cowards. We either want to shame and silence those who have hurt us, or we want to bury it and avoid having to deal with them any further. But neither cares for the offender. The biblical response to do is to love - love them enough to tell them the truth. And to give the truth, we must first rid our hearts of our blinding rage and self-defense (so we can see the truth and not the “over’“ truth), and we must be willing to address the wrong in love, seeking to bring growth and healing to the other person, not just the peace and stability of our own hearts.