When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness....
-- 1 Peter 2:23-24
I still tend to maintain a spirit of retaliation...towards the things that threaten me. What kinds of things? Where do I do it? ...many of them are referenced here. So the question becomes, why do I do it? When I feel threatened in my relationships, what can I learn to turn to? What keeps retaliation at bay? The answer seems to have something to do with 'entrusting myself to God' (rather than continuing to rely on my own where-with-all). ...only He can right the wrongs anyway and my efforts to maintain fairness often seem to be fraught with self-interest, self-preservation, self-promotion.
...and in case I'm wondering (or you are), read the last verse of Collosians 3. Part of what can keep me from retaliation is more full view of the retaliation I deserve.
