Before he became the sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois. On one occasion a man came to see Lincoln about hiring him for a lawsuit. This gentleman felt as if he had been wronged by another man, and he was determined to take him to court and seek $2.50 in damages.
Lincoln felt that this man was being petty and even tried to talk him out of the suit. But the man could not be dissuaded. He wanted more than a few bucks; he wanted revenge. After thinking about it, Lincoln decided to take the case, but he raised his usual rate. For his services Lincoln was going to charge ten dollars. The client agreed and paid the money.
The future President took $2.50 from his fee, gave it to the defendant, and told him to plead guilty. The plaintiff literally paid himself the money he was owed, and to Lincoln’s amazement, he was proud of himself at the trial’s conclusion. It was never about justice or getting what was rightfully his; he wanted a pound of flesh. He wanted revenge.
Getting revenge is silly, but the idea drives people to do silly things themselves. In the pursuit of revenge men will ruin relationships, alienate ancestry, and even wage war. Revenge was never ours to go after. God claimed this job for Himself. Deuteronomy 32:35 says, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense.” The author of Hebrews quoted that verse and added to it, writing, “For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:30-31).”
When we seek revenge we make ourselves judge, jury, and executioner, and Scripturally we are not called to be any of those things. Our judicial system is not without flaws; we unfortunately will convict and occasionally execute innocent people. When we exact revenge on other people we open ourselves up to the possibility of sending innocent people to the gallows of our wrath. When we leave revenge where it belongs—in the sovereign hands of the Lord—we do not have to worry than mistakes might be made. And the person receiving a sentence from Judge Jesus needs no avenue of appeal for the same reason.
We are not called to revenge; we are called to forgive. We should not get even, but wipe the slate clean. After all, “love keeps no record of wrongs (I Corinthians 13:5),” so let’s “forgive those who trespass against us (Mathew 6:12).” That is the best way to live. I believe that, like Lincoln’s client, getting revenge will cost us in the end.
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