Strange Advice?

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:18-21)

This is surely not advice you will receive from those in the world today: Do good to those who hurt you; Do not seek revenge; Be friendly with everyone . . . even those who do not particularly like you. Rather strange counsel in this dog-eat-dog world. How can anyone move up the ladder like that? Rather strange advice, is it not? However, this is just what Paul is saying here as he writes to the believers in Rome. The Roman government had forever been imposing taxes on the Jews and as long as they remained quiet and behaving, things would be fine. The Jews were seeking freedom, trying to get back at these tyrants who ruled not only Jerusalem, but the entire known world. Yet Paul's advice to them would be to remain clam, treat them well, even help them when needed and allow God to work things out. It is hard to remain calm and trust God when all hell breaks out round us. Our first reaction is to defend, fix things, and make the playing field level if you would. We desire to lash out or get back at those whom hurt us or keep things from us. Yet if we truly trust God and desire for Him to receive glory from our lives, we must trust Him and His timing. In fact, we need to be like Jesus . . . pray for those who mistreat us and even seek ways to be kind to them if possible. Our kind nature and strange behavior may just win them for Christ! We cannot be worried about those who seem to do all the terrible things yet still prosper. (Psalm 37:1-8) God does have our back. He knows our struggles. While we do not simply sit back and be beaten down, we still need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our actions rather than our flesh. Let God be God and trust Him. Yes, it is hard, but remember, this is about Him, not me! Strange advive . . . but eternal benefits!