It All Boils Down to Revenge
By Marion Spellman

"Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work." -Proverbs 24-29

In our Scripture today, the Holy Spirit is taking a parental role as he figuratively shakes his finger at disobedient children and sternly admonishes us to destroy our private dossiers, which we thought were safely hidden in the recesses of our hearts.

He is referring to our secret diaries, which contain all the sorted details of painful grievances committed against us by others. The one that no other person on earth has ever seen. These memoirs can prove, with specific dates, times, and events, that this pain is not just a figment of our imagination. No indeed! These offenses were viciously and, in many cases, willfully perpetrated against us.

Too often we measure our capability to forgive according to the circumstances and the traumatic events of our lives. We often believe that the actions of others are indicative of our ultimate success. We do not understand that forgiveness will result in releasing others and is the only way to achieve freedom for ourselves.

We are afraid to exercise our spiritual power by destroying our grievance records simply because we do not realize how this will work for us. In our minds, it is our only real proof. Taking matters into our own hands and manipulating situations is the way we have chosen to fight.

Mans' definition of victory and God's definition of victory have never been compatible. since we have very little power to change men's attitudes, and we are limited to the influence we have with changing the mind of an adversary, it is not uncommon to find ourselves stooping to carnal methods to make our point.

Well! This portion of Scripture presents a better weapon. A more sure way. The idea is so simple! We merely avoid indulging in negative self-talk. Do not even acknowledge with your lips that the pain (howbeit so great) is worth you lowering from your position in Christ just to retaliate. Here the Holy Spirit highlights the power of our words. His command is to simply: "Say Not!" The warning to "Say Not" is so strong that any attempts to "get even" will create a tremendous backlash.

As I read this Scripture, I thought, if the Holy Spirit is warning me to "Say Not"...(something); - by implication, He also is instructing me to "Say So"...(something). In other words, I can replace the "Say Not" words with "Say So" words.

Therefore, the positive confession that will bring about the results that I have been searching for should sound something like this: "I will bless them that curse me, I will do good to them that hate me, and pray for them which despitefully use me, and persecute me." -(Matthew 5:44)

As one part of our devotions, each morning my husband purposely reads Romans 12:21 laying a foundation for our day and this is our gift to you: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."