Boomerang

Read Proverbs 26

If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.

Proverbs 26:27

This proverb is not about bad luck or little-known laws of nature. Known by some as “what goes around comes around,” this biblical boomerang actually describes the way God has structured natural consequences for breaking his commands. Whatever we do to harm others will ultimately harm us. Whatever we do to seek revenge against an enemy will eventually become our own downfall. For example, hatred toward others causes self-inflicted wounds.

People who are consumed with hatred stress out and worry. Sometimes their feelings are so intense that they can’t sleep or eat. Hatred is a trap we set for others, yet we get hung up in it ourselves. Like a scene in a slapstick comedy, our entangled foot dangles us upside-down out on a limb. Meanwhile, our “victim” passes by unharmed. Yet it is no laughing matter. Revenge is a dangerous game, best left to the professional—God himself.

A WORD FOR TODAY

Give what you hope to get.

Today, Lord, others may try to hurt me. Remind me of your truth when I want revenge.