Some say, “I don’t get mad, I get even.” As if evening the score were something noble. As if payback were a virtue worth pursuing.
But God sees it differently.
Solomon put it plainly: “Do not say, ‘Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.'” Don’t plot your revenge. Don’t scheme to balance the scales.
Here’s why: When we take vengeance into our own hands, we step into a place we were never meant to stand. We climb onto the judge’s bench. We wrap ourselves in God’s robes. We declare, “I’ll be the one to make this right.”
But that throne is taken.
God is your defender. He sees what happened. He knows the depth of the wound, the weight of the injustice. And He is fully capable of handling it without your help. When you seek revenge, you’re not just acting out—you’re saying, “God, You’re not enough. You won’t do what needs to be done, so I will.”
Private vengeance is sinful not just because it’s harmful, but because it puts us in God’s place.
So what do you do with the hurt? Where do you put the pain when someone has wronged you?
You give it to the One who wore your wounds on a cross. You surrender the score-settling to the One who keeps perfect accounts. You trust that God’s justice is better than your revenge, His timing wiser than your impulses, His mercy deeper than your bitterness.
Let Him be God. Let Him defend. Let Him judge.
I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.