What does Scripture say about it?

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Permalink Reply by Grazer #E2H on July 13, 2013 at 2:53am

Love your neighbor as yourself covers that I think

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Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on July 15, 2013 at 9:12pm

Hi Michelle,

This situation could face many of our brothers and sisters, I think.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:44, " But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." (N.A.S.B.).

Proverbs 24:17-20, " Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; (18) Lest the Lord see it and be displeased, And He turn away His anger from him. (19) Do not fret because of evildoers, Or be envious of the wicked; (20) For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out." (N.A.S.B.).

 

So when David let Saul leave the cave unharmed, he left it up to God to take care of.........soon after, in the last chapter of I Samuel, Saul died an ignoble death on the battlefield.........

 

Grace and Peace.

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Permalink Reply by Seek on July 16, 2013 at 7:07am

I've wondered on this myself often when I see one who did me terribly wrong prospering.  Could I have sued, or gone up and demanded justice?  Perhaps it would've made me whole in things, but not whole inside. 

As my Pastor put it Sunday.....

People who live in their sin may appear for a time to prosper.  A guy he knew had a great job, made lots of money and disdained him for choosing a life of ministry (which to him seemed poverty).  The pastor told him to check back with him in 10 years. 

This person that was in my life may be appearing to prosper now, but 10 years from now?  I already know what they're doing is not going to work out for long in their life.  They're living it up for now.  But they'll crash and burn over it all at some point, and God will have prospered me slowly and correctly. 

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on July 20, 2013 at 2:28pm

Thanks for posting this, Michelle. I just wanted to add that the lesson was based on I Samuel 24 and was called Respect for Life. I suppose I'm one of those people with paranoia, thinking others are out to get me. I have been injured by others, physically and emotionally. I guess we all have. It's difficult to not want to avenge yourself. In fact, one can easily convince themselves that it's even justifiable. We can even misinterpret events and wrongly assume that God is giving us an opportunity to act when it's really only what we want God to be permitting us to do, like the men in verse 4 of 1 Samuel 24. The footnotes in my study bible say that there's no record in Scripture that God said that to David and his men -- 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' I suppose this discussion could easily become about forgiveness. But what about respect for life? How are we to respect one another biblically?

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