Jeremiah and His Want of Revenge

Jeremiah is what we are studying in church these days. Before the service, the "entrance" music was "Joy to the World"...no one was singing, it was just the instrumentalists jamming as people came into the gathering place. Who can help not humming along "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" DAAA NAH NAH "Was a good friend of mine..." DAAA NAH NAH (imitating the guitar riff)? Anyway, that was interesting to visitors I'm sure!



So, Chuck taught on Jeremiah 18:18-23 and how Jeremiah cried out to God and asked Him to basically take out his anger on Jeremiah's enemies. Jeremiah's enemies plotted against him and intended to slander him and not listen to anything he said. Jeremiah, like me, wants people like that "to pay".



Chuck came onto the stage wearing a backpack filled up with large rocks. He was making the point that when we choose to hang onto the bitterness, anger, hurt, and worries that those things only serve to weigh us down and make us feel miserable. He also shared about how Jeremiah's attitude weighed him down. We need to hand over all this "excess baggage" to God. As Christians we should not seek revenge on those that hurt us.



Katie and I were talking about the message today and how we aren't sure where the line of revenge is drawn. This is what we mean. Was it really wrong for Jeremiah to ask God to deal with his enemies? Was it wrong for Jeremiah to want his enemies to suffer?



I think there is a difference between wanting revenge, and wanting someone to be held accountable and suffer consequences of their poor behavior. I do think it is wrong to simply want to see someone to suffer to get a "taste of their own medicine". I do not think it is wrong to wish that someone be held accountable for an indescretion and have to suffer the consequences. If you steal, you should be made to pay replacement value and depending on what the circumstances are, pay restitution and time in jail. None of that is revenge, it is a consequence.



I struggle with some leftover "baggage" from Katie's old church. I was very unimpressed with them, their attitudes, their actions and the un-Christian way they handled things with her and her husband. I used to be so angry. I wanted lightning to strike. Literally. I wanted God's wrath to come down on that church in such a bad way! I couldn't understand why God even allows a church like that to exist! I struggled with this for over a year. I also struggled with the anger I had toward her ex-husband and the injustice that I saw there. I became so convicted about this and it weighed me down so bad. I was like Chuck walking around with a backpack full of heavy rocks. About a year ago I gave it up.



I no longer want lightning to strike that church or a tornado to blow it away. I no longer want Katie's ex to die in a fiery crash. I wrote a long letter to that church and asked forgiveness for harboring so much bitterness toward them and making judgments against them. I still wish for that church to learn from their mistakes, but I don't want revenge. I still want Katie's ex-husband to deal with the consequences of his poor choices and irresponsibility, but I don't want revenge. (I must admit, part of me rejoiced knowing that his pocketbook was hit recently when child support was garnished from his unemployment check.)



Then I think...is it wrong to become satisfied knowing that someone is suffering the consequences of poor choices? How would I have learned to make good choices if I never suffered consequences from making bad ones? Should a Christian not celebrate accountability? Justice? If it is wrong, how do I deal with that?



God never responded to Jeremiah's plea in 18:18-23. He went onto other things. I think he basically let Jeremiah blow off some steam and allowed him a cooling off period. God was saying "Yo, Jeremiah, chill."



God is the ultimate Judge. He promises that all wrongs will be made right. I have to trust in that. I have to see all of this through eyes that look to eternity...WHICH TAKES THE PATIENCE OF GOD!