“When all is said and done …. Two wrongs do not make a right…. And revenge is a sin in itself, the best revenge is forgiveness … Cause until you forgive, you are holding God back from His Vengeance. In layman’s terms as long as you hold onto the transgression you hold God powerless…. Let go and let God “~ A Facebook ‘friend’
“no matter what someone says or does to you. stand your ground and dont do or say anything to hurt them or put them down. Remember GOD DOESNT LIKE UGLY and he will ‘get them’!!” ~ A different Facebook ‘friend’
I have a few Facebook ‘Friends’ who, when they go through anything remotely challenging, blow up everyone’s news feed with cryptic messages about their tribulations on their favorite social networking medium. And they post this kind of….stuff. Yeah, that word will do, I guess.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Heard that one all my life. And it’s true. It’s the rest of that stuff that gets under my skin. I know everybody reacts differently to being hurt. Some people are hurt at the smallest perceived slight and others it takes quite a bit for them to get to the point that they are aggrieved by continual abuses.
Regardless, if you take the position that revenge is a sin, wouldn’t wishing vengeance on said foe be a sin as well? Isn’t that what’s happening here? And do people really believe that God is that weak? Or that powerful for that matter? Is your lack of forgiveness all that’s holding God back from the revenge you wish to see inflicted but believe would be a sin to personally inflict? What is the difference?
Me, personally, don’t care about revenge. I don’t think it has anything to do with it being a sin. It’s a personality thing. If you hurt me it’s my choice whether or not to forgive. I don’t think it’s a sin not to forgive (I’d have to believe that there is such a thing as sin). If you inflict undeserved pain on another you have no right to expect forgiveness.
But, if God is an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present entity, is it possible to hold him back from anything he chooses to do? There’s irony in believing in a powerful being who can vanquish your foes and believing you are more powerful than he. What’s more I find it odd to believe that God is your hit man. Unfortunately I know so many Christians who honestly believe this. And they believe that they are offering forgiveness by ‘making nice’ all the while praying for their God to “get them!!”
Out From Under the Umbrella 
October 25, 2013 at 7:13 am
Yes, this way of putting it makes “God” weak and impotent, so it seems.
Good lord dearies, forgive, just get it over with and forgive. Then let our Lord take the bull by the horns and deal with the offender. May “God” have mercy on their soul . . . or not. His will be done.
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October 25, 2013 at 9:45 am
Impotent or nonexistent… 😉
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October 25, 2013 at 9:48 am
That too. 🙂
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October 25, 2013 at 9:08 am
All those quotes about forgiveness you mentioned all sound like phrases from Joyce Meyer. I think she’s extremely toxic to the human condition. Sorry, I don’t feel obligated in any way to clothe, feed and make other provisions for people who horribly abuse me. That is total manipulation and I will not support it.
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October 25, 2013 at 9:44 am
“Sorry, I don’t feel obligated in any way to clothe, feed and make other provisions for people who horribly abuse me. That is total manipulation and I will not support it.”
Nor do I and maybe because I feel that way I don’t believe that is a wrong way to feel. 😉
I hadn’t thought about them sounding like Joyce Meyer. I don’t know if she’d advocate that God is gonna get ’em. Then again, I was never a big JM fan, so I don’t really know what her position is on that. I thought the Christian position was supposed to be doing good to those who mistreat you – you know, feed them, clothe them, walk a mile with them, then two, then give them your cloak.
I used to do that. And though I’m not a Christian anymore, I still kinda do. But I get to decide when I’ve had enough. And when enough is enough, I don’t even want revenge. I just don’t care anymore and I walk off from it. Done. That may be unforgiveness. I don’t know and, frankly, I don’t really care. I don’t have to like everyone and they don’t have to like me. I don’t wish them any ill will. I don’t pray for the fleas of a thousand camels to infest their bed. I just don’t put myself out for them anymore.
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October 25, 2013 at 9:51 am
That pretty much sums it up for me. I believe in helping and I would help my worst enemy. However, like you, I cut things off when I know I need to. As a Christian I didn’t know how to say no, but the few times I did the wrath of my Church, Sunday School class or a friend would hit me hard. Now I”m much more aware of my limits as an atheist. I’m also a firm believer in not letting another person take precedence over my family. That was something I didn’t do as a Christian.
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October 28, 2013 at 11:12 am
I’ve harped on this before, but there’s a whole range of “Christian” behaviors that seem to be directly based on the idea that the Almighty can’t – or won’t – do things for Himself. It’s… very strange.
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