The Person Who Hurt You Won’t Get Away Clean

 

In a  world where injustice often seems to prevail, it's easy to feel disheartened. We've all experienced moments when someone has wronged us, and it appeared they faced no consequences. However, as Christians, we're reminded of a profound truth: “ The person who hurt you won't get away clean”. Those words were ones I wrote a while before the accident, but I never got around to finishing. Because it's been heavy on me lately,  I thought why not. Better late than never, right?

Let's start with one of the earliest examples in Scripture - the story of Cain and Abel. After Cain murdered his brother out of jealousy, he thought he could hide his crime. But God confronted him, saying, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground" (Genesis 4:10). Cain faced divine justice,  not only was he marked, but he was sent away as a restless wanderer.  He was no longer in the presence of God. Because God saw it,  he took care of the situation as he seemed fit.  Even though it’s hard, we have to trust that God will take care of it.

This is a principle echoes all throughout the Bible. “The person who hurt you has to live with the guilt that you never did a thing to hurt them. That's something they'll never forget. “God's justice may not always be immediate but it  is ultimately unavoidable. If we try to take matters into our own hands, it will always end up messy, not to mention, it tends to backfire. If you were to even try, no matter how many times you wash your hands, the blood of the aftermath will still be on you. 

Okay okay!!

Another example I can give you is King David. Despite being "a man after God's own heart," he faced severe consequences for his sins with Bathsheba and against Uriah.  (2 Samuel 11-12) . I imagine many of you have heard of the song “ Hallelujah “, if you haven’t you definitely should. The  first few chords discusses how David pleased the Lord, and he saw Bathsheba bathing. Of course later on it implies Samson and Delilah , but that’s irrelevant at the moment. David seduced Bathsheba purely out of lust. Who’s  to say he won’t end up loving her. ANYWAY… Bathsheba became pregnant  while her husband, Uriah was still at war. Trying to cover his tracks, he gets Uriah home from the  to“ impregnate“ Bathsheba. And when that plan failed,  David place Uriah in front line , knowing Uriah was going  to be killed.  Now that Uriah is out of the way, David marries Bathsheba. They didn’t get away easy, no, their first son died as a punishment to replace  the death of Uriah. Later, they do end up having another son, only this time it was done right. Solomon will be known as a wise King to Israel.

While can list off a dozen different characters, it would be wayyyy too long for a single blog post. That being said,the last one for now is Judas Iscariot, after betraying Jesus, was so overcome with guilt that he took his own life. Judas was one of Jesus’s twelve disciples. He ate at the same table as Jesus. I don’t know what went through his mind to betray a friend for money. To me that seems incredibly  insane. No money in the world could replace a good friendship, much less being in the presence of Jesus 24/7. That’s where Judas and I differ, he sold a friend out,  while I on the other hand paid to have friends. In my life, I have paid for anything my “ friends “ wanted or straight up did it for free. Just because I truly believed that they were my friends.   I say this a lot, but “if they want to they will”. While my problems are so minute, they still hurt. The betrayal still hurts, the heartbreak still hurts. And I have learned that it’s okay to hurt. If we can only bring our hurt to God, he will deal with it. Often if we try to get our revenge on people it only bothers us. It fills us with negative emotions like anger or bitterness  The Apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." This isn't about vengeance, but rather about God's perfect justice and the natural consequences of our actions. Another reason why we should not cause vengeance on others can be found in Romans 12:19  and it says, "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." This suggests that seeking vengeance is not our role and that it is better to leave justice in the hands of a higher power.

Overall, seeking vengeance can harm relationships, create more problems, and prevent personal peace and growth. It's often encouraged to seek forgiveness and resolution rather than revenge.

However, it's crucial to balance this understanding with other core Christian principles:

1. Forgiveness: As Jesus taught us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).

2. Repentance: God's justice is tempered with mercy when we truly repent. As 1 John 1:9 promises, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

3. God's timing: Divine justice may not always be immediate. As Peter wrote, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

In our daily lives, this understanding should guide our actions and reactions:

1. When wronged, we can find peace knowing that God sees and will address injustice.

2. We should be cautious about our own actions, knowing that we too will be held accountable.

3. We must balance the desire for justice with Christ's call to forgiveness and love.

As we navigate life's challenges, let's remember that while no wrong will ultimately go unaddressed, our primary call is to love, forgive, and point others towards the redemptive power of Christ's sacrifice.