BLESS AND DO NOT CURSE
"BLESS THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU; BLESS AND DO NOT CURSE."
Romans 12:14 (NKJV)
One of the shunned aspects of Christian living which many would not want to agree with is the verse 14 of the text: "BLESS THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU; BLESS AND DO NOT CURSE" (Romans 13:14 NKJV).
This portion of the Bible does not go down well with any number of believers, even some ministers do not agree with It, because of the human nature. Human nature is retaliatory and vengeful, but God says vengeance is His and It should be given to Him (Romans 12:19).
READ: Leviticus 19:17,18; Proverbs 20:22; Hebrews 10:30
If the flesh is not completely crucified you would want to avenge or curse whoever offended you, but God's Word is, bless those who persecute you and do not curse.
You will surely be provoked and persecuted If you truly wanted to live a godly life (2 Timothy 3:12). This is where the crucifixion and mortification of the flesh talked about in Galatians 5:24 and Colossians 3:5 respectively, come in. If your flesh is not crucified and mortified you would find it difficult to overlook and not curse those who deliberately do you harm, but the Bible says you should not.
Vengeance should be given to God because It belongs to Him (Romans 12:19). What God would do to the person or people who maltreated you, persecuted you, or do you harm, would be humbling that you yourself being avenge on would pity the person or people. Whoever is treating a believer, a child of God or the people of God, wrongly are usually do not end well. If you understand this you would not strive to fight or avenge yourself—you allow God to do it for you.
When you tell the matter of those who treated you badly, or did you harm, to God, you are giving a place to His wrath to come on such people: "BELOVED, DO NOT AVENGE YOURSELVES, BUT RATHER GIVE PLACE TO WRATH; FOR IT IS WRITTEN, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” SAYS THE LORD" (Romans 12:19 NKJV).
This is not only mentioned in the New testament, It was written in the old testament and was quoted here in the New testament epistle:
READ: Leviticus 19:17,18; Deuteronomy 32:35; Proverbs 20:22
Mostly, when you are maltreated and you seemed not to react negatively as a believer, some want to believe you are being stupid. A believer who does not react negatively or vengefully is not being stupid but he or she is being obedient to the Word of God, the Bible (Romans 12:19).
Verses 20 and 21 of that Romans 12 said further that believers should even provide for the needs of the persecutors, the person or people who treated you badly:
20 THEREFORE “IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD.” 21 DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD (Romans 12:20,21 NKJV). READ: Proverbs 25:21,22
I know the flesh would not want you to do that, the flesh would want you to fight back. I have practiced It, I know what I am saying.
When someone who has maltreated you is in need of whatever you have the capacity to help him or her of, you go ahead and help or assist him or her according to the Word of God. The Bible says: " . . . FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD" (Romans 12:20).
The good you are doing to the person or people is the reason why God will judge them. However, If you are vengeful, fighting and cursing, you have already defended yourself, God would not be able to do anything to help or assist or avenge for you. This shows us that there is no wisdom in being vengeful and fighting back by yourself when you are offended, persecuted or maltreated by whoever.
" . . . BUT RATHER GIVE PLACE TO WRATH" in that Bible verse, Romans 12:19, is not talking about your own wrath but God's wrath. Allow God's wrath, annoyance, vengeance, to come on the person or people without you saying or do anything. Leave your matter in God's hand, telling Him in prayer what they had done to you.
The believers had the flesh, the world and the devil to fight with, they are the believers' enemies, not human beings perse.
Your flesh would want you to resist the Word of God, It would not want you to obey the truth, thus, God would not be able to get involved in the matters of your life.
The solution to any believer's problems starts with the practicing of the Word of God, the principles found in the Bible (Psalm 1:1-3; James 1:22-25). It is when you started practically practicing the Word of God, the Bible, that God begins to be interested in the matters of your life.
Obeying or practicing the Word of God, the Bible, seems difficult to the flesh, and any number of believers would not want to deal or crucify or mortify their flesh, they would rather want to circumvent or bypass the right way of God to handle persecution or being mistreated or maltreated.
Thus, the believers have resulted to what they call spiritual warfare, whereby they pray that their enemies should be killed and died by fire. Asking God to kill those who mistreated or persecuted you by fire is not consistent with the new testament teachings.
The new testament pattern is, tell the matter to God in prayer and let Him, God, judge or determine what to be done to the person or people (Matthew 5:38-48). These are some of the practices of the old testament which Christ has come to correct or change:
38 “YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' 39 BUT I TELL YOU NOT TO RESIST AN EVIL PERSON. BUT WHOEVER SLAPS YOU ON YOUR RIGHT CHEEK, TURN THE OTHER TO HIM ALSO. 40 IF ANYONE WANTS TO SUE YOU AND TAKE AWAY YOUR TUNIC, LET HIM HAVE YOUR CLOAK ALSO. 41 AND WHOEVER COMPELS YOU TO GO ONE MILE, GO WITH HIM TWO. 42 GIVE TO HIM WHO ASKS YOU, AND FROM HIM WHO WANT TO BORROW FROM YOU DO NOT TURN AWAY. 43 “YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AND HATE YOUR ENEMY.' 44 BUT I SAY TO YOU, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU, DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE YOU, AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY USE YOU AND PERSECUTE YOU" (Matthew 5:38-44 NKJV).
The truth is, things taught in the above passage of the Bible by Christ Jesus Himself are difficult to practice for the flesh, this is the reason why even many believers and ministers are against it. Since It is plain enough and self explanatory, It cannot be twisted, but they rather would not want to talk about it. But the wisdom behind the teaching is, If you obeyed or practiced the Word or principles as being said in the passage, God will move into action to fight and defend you.
An example:
"BUT I TELL YOU NOT TO RESIST AN EVIL PERSON. BUT WHOEVER SLAPS YOU ON YOUR RIGHT CHEEK, TURN THE OTHER TO HIM ALSO" (Matthew 5:39).
If God says you should not resist an evil person, does that mean God will fold His hands without helping you? No. God will definitely fight on your behalf but your obedience to the Scripture is required before God could be of help. God helping you is dependent on your obedience! If anyone treated you badly and you retaliated not, God definitely would defend you because you did obey His Word. But the flesh or the human nature would not want you to do that—would not want you to obey that Scripture.
I have lived in different places and have seen how some people treated us badly but when such people are seen or met or heard of again, their situations or conditions are always pathetic or bad. You allow God to defend you, stop doing it by yourself.
Peace.
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