Chapter 340 of 1163

1 Chronicles 19

If you fear a person and consider him or her your enemy, nothing that person does will please you. Instead of taking his or her words and actions at face value, you get suspicious. Malice poisons us to the point that our ears hear nothing good and our eyes see nothing good, no matter what that person may say or do. (See 1 Pet. 2:1–3.)

Hanun’s actions were a public offense against David, so he had to act, especially when he saw the Ammonites getting ready for war. But what should Christians do when they are handed evil in return for good?

Consider these verses when deciding what action to take: “Love . . . does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil” (1 Cor. 13:5); “In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer” (Ps. 109:4); “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Ponder Matthew 5:10–12, 43–48, and then ask God to help you practice it. Francis Bacon commented on the situation: “In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.”

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