Fred Goldman won a moral
victory when a jury found O. J. Simpson liable
for the death of his son Ron, but Goldman is not
a happy man. Money could never fill the void in
his life since Ron's death. In his book "His
Name is Ron: Our Search for Justice," Goldman
writes that he has fantasies about killing O. J.
—Albuquerque Journal,
Feb-15-1997. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
I cannot begin to feel the
weight of Mr. Goldman pain, it must be
unbearable. Could any father forgive his son's
murder?
John 3:16 "For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life."
________________________________________
VENGEANCE
It was always a B-movie
cliché. As the good guy prepares to teach the
bad guy a lesson, out of the corner of his mouth
he orders the bartender to "Call an ambulance."
"Why?" the bartender asks, "Someone hurt?"
"Yup," the hero replies as he cold-cocks the bad
guy. Centuries after Moses announced the
"eye-for-an-eye" thing, Jesus added a bit about
turning the other cheek, loving your enemies and
basically giving anyone anything requested from
you. If we took the advice literally, we'd be a
bunch of bruised nudists.
But with skillful hyperbole,
Jesus was directing our gaze straight toward our
own motives of vengeance. The "Jesus Plan" was
all about taking the power out of the insult by
taking the power of out of the confrontation.
The power in the confrontation is all about our
need to see another hurt, but by seeking a
mutually injurious experience, we rediscover the
pain of repetitive injury. This path only keeps
us imprisoned and tortured by our need to define
justice.
—Norris Burkes, Vengeance is
a prison, January 16, 2003, Illustration by Jim
L. Wilson and Chaplain Norris
www.chaplainnorris.com/columns/2003/01162003.htm
Romans 12:19 NASB “Never take
your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for
the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance
is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
VENGEANCE
In the novel Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff, the
main character is treated horribly as a young
boy by the Earnshaw family. As he grows older,
he plots revenge on those who treated him
cruelly and their children--to the point where
his vengeance consumes his every thought and
action. Isabella, one of the characters who
somehow escapes his cruelty, says, "Treachery
and violence are spears pointed at both
ends--they wound those who resort to them, worse
than their enemies." That is exactly what
happens to Heathcliff. He dies bitter and alone,
while the children of his oppressors live a
happy, fulfilled life. —Jim L. Wilson and
Abigail Davis
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, page 177.
Romans 12:19-21 (HCSB) (19) Friends, do not
avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His
wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to
Me; I will repay, says the Lord. (20) But If
your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is
thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so
doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his
head. (21) Do not be conquered by evil, but
conquer evil with good.
VENGEANCE
Alan
Sorrentino, a 63 year-old resident of Rhode
Island, had his house picketed by hundreds of
people, and he even received death threats
after writing an opinion piece to a small
newspaper. In the letter, he stated in strong
language that “yoga pants” were stupid, and
that women should stop wearing them in public.
Jamie Burk, who arranged the protests, said
"This was not about a bunch of ladies parading
around for their right to wear yoga pants…It
was men and women standing up against casual
sexism and the policing of women's bodies."
How often do
we overreact to how others treat us and end up
treating them even worse?
Retaliation
fueled by sin is a dangerous thing. Jesus knew
this, and he taught us a better way rooted in
the justice and humility of a God who became a
lowly man. —Jim L. Wilson and
James Whitten
Matthew 5:44 (HCSB)“But
I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you,”
VENGEANCE
Nick
Stafford, a Virginia man, used pennies to pay
his sales tax on two automobiles to the
Department of Motor Vehicles, because he could
not find a direct phone number to their
office. Stafford said he had to file a Freedom
of Information Act request just to get the
number. That prompted him to pay the tax with
change to “inconvenience“the DMV. Stafford
brought five wheelbarrows full of change,
mostly pennies, to the office. His tax payment
weighted over 1,600 pounds. Stafford filed
three lawsuits over the matter, and they were
dismissed. State officials had no comment on
Stafford’s actions.—Jim L. Wilson & Jim
Sandell
Romans 12:19 (HCSB) “Friends,
do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room
for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance
belongs to Me; I will repay, says the
Lord.”
VENGEANCE
Neil Junglas
saw a car pull up into his parking spot
outside his home in England. A couple got out
of the car and taking suitcases they jumped
into a taxi and left. He assumed they were
just trying to avoid paying for parking at the
nearby airport but the move left Neil without
parking at home. To get revenge he bought an
industrial roll of plastic wrap and used it to
tightly swaddle the car—sealing the doors,
windows, and wheels. “I thought I’d leave them
a nice surprise,” Junglas said, “for when they
got back.”
It makes a
good story, and the parking spot stealing
couple probably deserved it, but God tells us
to leave the vengeance to him. —Jim L. Wilson
and Rodger Russell
The Week,
October 6, 2017 p. 12
Romans 12:19 (CSB)
Friends,
do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room
for God’s wrath, because it is written,
Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the
Lord.
VENGEANCE
In 2017
Netflix released a highly anticipated Marvel
series: The
Punisher. Frank Castle, aka
The Punisher, lost his family in the hands of
a murderous group. To avenge his family's
death, Castle went on a bloody rampage,
killing everyone who was in or involved with
the group responsible for the deaths of his
family and children. Castle eventually
becomes a crime fighter, but every criminal he
kills always leads to greater pain.—Jim L.
Wilson and John Pyo
Bless
those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those
who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do
not be proud; instead, associate with the
humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful
thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s
eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not
avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s
wrath, because it is written, Vengeance
belongs to me; I will repay, says the
Lord. But
If your
enemy is hungry, feed him.
If
he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For
in so doing
you
will be heaping fiery coals on his head.
Do
not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with
good.
VENGEANCE
Authorities
arrested Eva, a Slovakian woman after she
played the same opera song on repeat for 16
years. They charged her with harassment and
malicious persecution for forcing neighbors to
listen to Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata
repeatedly. Neighbors said the woman began
playing the song to drown out the noise of a
barking dog and never stopped. Eva could face
six months in prison if found guilty. One
neighbor said, “I love Placido Domingo, but
not like this.” Another neighbor added, “The
whole street is suffering.”—Jim L. Wilson and
Jim Sandell
Do not
repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful
thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s
eyes.
VENGEANCE
Have
you been jilted? Do you still feel the pain?
Well a
British zoo is offering jilted lovers a way to
get revenge. For only $2 on Valentine’s Day
2019 people could name a cockroach after their
ex-sweetheart. “The Hemsley Conservation
Center will display the “worthless
ex-‘someone’s” name outside its cockroach
enclosure.” The zoo is offering this service
as a civilized way to get back “at your ex
this Valentine’s Day.” —Jim
L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
The
Week, February 15, 2019 p. 12.
Setting
aside the humor, there is so much wrong with
this. “Love your enemies.”“Do
Good to those who despitefully use you.”
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the
Lord.” The worse part of it is continuing your
resentment. Your Ex will probably never see it
but it affects you every day.
Romans 12:19 (CSB)19
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead,
leave room for God’s wrath, because it is
written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will
repay, says the Lord.
VENGEANCE
At the end of World
War II, some 50 European Jews decided to take an
eye for an eye. These young men and women had
seen the Nazis slaughter their families and
communities and were “consumed with hatred.” Led
by the charismatic partisan, Abba Kovner and
calling themselves the avengers, the group
plotted to murder 6 million Germans to balance
out the 6 million Jews murdered in the
Holocaust. After all these years the men say
they feel no remorse for “the horrifying act
they planned.” The group first tried to poison
Nuremberg’s water system in 1945. That failed
when the British arrested the avenger who was
smuggling the poison by boat from Palestine to
Germany. The Avengers then switched to Plan B:
“poisoning the bread of German prisoners of
war.” One avenger got a job with the bakery that
served POW camps while others procured the
poison. Some 2,000 detainees came down with
stomach ailments. “However, to the regret of the
Avengers, none of them died.”
The Week, December
13, 2019
The surprising
thing is that more Holocaust survivors didn’t
turn to violence. Most of them were willing to
let God take the vengeance. —Jim L. Wilson and
Rodger Russell.
Romans 12:19 (CSB)
“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead,
leave room for God’s wrath, because it is
written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,
says the Lord.”
REVENGE
A
Bride in the UK ended up shaming
a wedding guest on the Facebook Group, “That’s
It, I’m Wedding Shaming.”
Apparently, the guest ignored the unwritten
etiquette that only the Bride wears
white, on this very special day.
The
unimpressed Bride got her
sweet, but brutal revenge by posting the
following note: “Dear ****, thank you
for attending our wedding. It was an honor to
share the entitlement of wearing
a white dress with you. Best wishes, ****.”
Wedding
attire etiquette isn’t just
for earthly weddings. Indeed, if we are to be
present at the Wedding Supper of
the Lamb of God, we also must be properly
dressed!—Jim L. Wilson and Derick
Wilson.
Matthew
22:11–14 (CSB)
When the king
came in to see the guests, he saw
a man there who was not dressed for a wedding.
So he said to him, ‘Friend, how
did you get in here without wedding clothes?’
The man was speechless.
“Then the king
told the attendants, ‘Tie him up
hand and foot, and throw him into the outer
darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are
invited, but few are chosen.”
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