Can We Seek Revenge?

The Monday feature of the Worldly Saints blog focuses on a story from the sports world – current or historic. The point is to recognize athletes who are using their sports and athletic abilities to further the kingdom of God or to show how some athletes or teams are wasting their days by not giving God the glory.

Congratulations to the US Women’s National Team on winning the World Cup. I wasn’t able to view their 5-2 victory over Japan live, but watched the playback late last night. What a victory!

As a fan of soccer (aka futbol to the rest of the world), I revel in getting the opportunity to watch our national teams compete on the world stage. I don’t know how to explain it, but there is something about watching your country compete against other countries. I suppose for those who enjoy watching the Olympics, it is a similar feeling of enjoyment.

A rather discouraging development yesterday was the number of Twitter users who were using the opportunity to “rub in” the victory over Japan by saying it was some sort of payback for Pearl Harbor. One user even tweeted “That’s what yall get for bombing Pearl Harbor. Go America.”

First of all, winning a World Cup soccer match – on any level – and being the object of a surprise attack during a World War is not even the same thing. How in the world could anyone possibly think they are synonymous? But I digress.

The more concerning issue is the fact that someone thought they would take a sporting event and try to someone be vengeful in a victory over the same country that attacked us.

People always like a good vengeance or revenge story, don’t they? Avenge is about getting justice; revenge is about harming someone regardless of justice.

It is never our place to be involved in revenge. That is God’s role and right, as we read in Deuteronomy 32:35 – “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.” That verse is repeated in Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30.

The reason we are not allowed to seek revenge but God is permitted to avenge is this: we cannot do this with pure motives and God can. God knows and understands that we are incapable of having perfectly right motivations for avenging. In other words, our desire even to avenge often turns into revenge and we become people who only want to hurt or harm.

The alternative (or perhaps opposite) is given to us in Leviticus 19:18 – “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” When we are harmed, we should not seek harm, but love. And praying for those who persecute us is a Christ-like way to do that (Matt 5:44).