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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 30, 2009 PAYBACK? |
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Frontline Devotion for Friday, January 30, 2009 by Mike Martine
Proverbs 24:28-29
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, or use your lips to deceive.
Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me; I'll pay that man back for what he did."
Payback. They say payback's a...
Well, you know what they say. And it's the truth.
Jesus said "Blessed are the peacemakers." And he said it for good reason. Because when it comes to blows, there never is a "final blow." The game of payback is never ending, and, sometimes, we Christians are too eager to participate.
A talented artist named Susan Werner (whom I'm privileged to know a little bit) recently wrote these words in a song called, "Together"1:
there must be a time
there must be a place
when everyone will finally come together
if there is a God
with a human face
i'm sure He'd want us all to come together...
and get beyond these bolted doors
get beyond these awful bloody wars
get beyond this way of settling scores
'cause the score is never even
Here's the thing-we all say we want to get to that time, to that place, where we will come together. Because, after all, that is the place where Jesus wants to lead us. That is the place where the beauty of God's kingdom-the kingdom all nations shall flow to-shall be revealed. Right?
But...to get there, we've GOT to lose this concept of "payback." We've got to be willing to turn from the desire to "do to him as he has done to me."
We have to have the courage to stop playing the game. Because, as the song says, in the game, the "score is never even."
There is only one way to even the score. You even it with love.
And love will take a blow if taking that blow means a better future. Love will take a blow if taking that blow means salvation.
Love will take a blow, if that blow means even laying down one's life for one's friends.
And love will take the blow because there has to come a day (if that wonderful "day" is ever to come) when we will have the courage to call everyone "friend."
Think about it.
And forget the score. We have been called to play a different game.
Peace.
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1 Editor's Note: "Together" can be found on Susan Werner's CD entitled "The Gospel Truth". It can be purchased at CD Baby, Bulletproof, and Amazon. |
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