Today is…

a wonderful day to think about how to get even.

“And don’t say, ‘Now I can pay them back for what they have done to me!  I’ll get even with them!’”  Proverbs 24:29 NLT

We all know, from reading the Bible, that revenge is not God’s way. When someone wrongs us, we are not to repay wrong with wrong.

No pay backs.

But how about those who do good things for us? How about people who go out of their way to show us a kindness or help us when we need it? Is it alright to pay them back? Would God approve if we tried to “get even” with kindness, love, fellowship and friendship?

We should already know that God wants us to help people who are in need. But how many of us know that we should do something special for someone who is always thinking of others? How about the leaders of our church? Our priests, pastors, ministers, and elders?

Paul tells us to, “Hold them in the highest regards in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.” (1 Thessalonians 5:13 NIV).

He was a little more forth coming in his letter to the Corinthians when he asked, “Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink?” (1 Corinthians 9:11 NLT).

The answer of course is, “Yes!”

Invite your spiritual leaders to your homes for dinner, or take them to a nice restaurant now and then. Try to do something to “get even” with them for all they do for others.

And what about those hard working volunteers that give so much of themselves to feed the poor, or work on houses for the homeless or who tirelessly serve the needs of individuals who are less fortunate than themselves? Sometimes it is difficult for us to make the time to help, and we give financially, but how about this: how about doing something nice to “get even” with those who are in the trenches by sending a nice gift basket to their homes, or inviting them out for lunch, or giving them a gift card to a store that you know they like to frequent?

And then there are people who are doing nice things for you specifically: co-workers, neighbors, friends and family.

If we think about it, we could probably spend a lot of time thinking of ways to “get even.” We all need to sit down and make a list of all the various people we know who give so much of themselves to us and to other people.

And then we need to get started “getting even.”

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson