Revenge

Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.

1 Peter 3:9

THE DRIVER OF the Chevy van didn’t mean to do something wrong. He was driving on an unfamiliar road, didn’t know his lane had ended, and accidentally cut off the Ford truck behind him.

If the van driver hadn’t known before what he did, he quickly found out. When he reached the next stoplight, the driver of the truck got out of his car and began pounding on the van driver’s window.

Road rage is a problem. According to one study, more than half of United States citizens encounter road rage in one way or another, and many of these experiences are serious incidents.

Those involved in road rage may not always be as clueless as the van driver. Most of us have probably been tempted at one time or another to respond in anger when we receive an insult from another vehicle driver.

When we’re the recipients of an evil action or insult—on the road or off it—what’s the right thing to do? One website recommends that we keep an “I’m sorry” sign in our cars to hold up when we encounter road rage.

But when it comes to the rubber of wickedness meeting the road of life, God’s Word tells us to return blessings for insults, to pay back others with goodness and kindness. They may or may not be affected by our positive behavior, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the promise God has made to us: as we bless others, he will bless us.