The Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 12, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
It could backfire.
You might even put yourself in harm's way. What can really be gained? It is far better to save yourself from the possibility of further trauma. Focus on the good things in your life and look at how you can move forward, putting the person who hurt you firmly in the past.
People sometimes give this impression when they're offering a short description of the gospel. But Scripture shows us that the Father and Son are both wrathful toward sin, and both loving toward sinners. God the Father loves us, and sent his Son to save us.
Vengeance is mine is a biblical quotation from: Deuteronomy 32:35. Romans 12:19.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. '”
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord” (Romans 12:18-20).
As Christians, we are not to hold grudges nor seek revenge on others. God tells us in Leviticus 19:18 that rather than seeking revenge or holding a grudge, we should love the person as we love ourselves. This is in agreement with Jesus' commands reinforced in the New Testament (Mark 12:31).
God's wrath is stored up.
The whole Bible story leads to a day when God will deal with all evil fully, finally, and forever. This will be the day of wrath, when God will recompense every evil and bring to judgment every sin. God will do this in perfect justice. The punishment for every sin will match the crime.
The biblical authors want us to see that God's anger is always a response to human betrayal and evil, and it's expressed through handing humans over to the logical consequences of their decisions. In other words, God's anger is expressed by giving humans what they want, or at least, what they've chosen.
Luke 6:27-28
But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
From the Old to the New Testament, God is portrayed as permissive and wrathful. Jews avoid this contradiction, as they only accept the God of the Old Testament as truly divine.
He fully knew of our nature sin and total depravity but still chose us to be His children. So God's love cannot be reckless because he has everything planned out perfectly and his love towards us is totally intentional and undeserving.
For people who wrote a letter expressing forgiveness, the researchers found that their levels of self-humanity were higher than people who wrote a revenge letter. Additionally, those who forgave reported lower inclination toward self-harm. In other words, forgiving has benefits for those of us who have been hurt.
Success can often be deemed the best revenge because you're not even the one having to tell others about it. As you work in silence, your success makes the noise for you. Others begin to champion your accomplishments, telling those around you just what you were able to accomplish and achieve.
People who set great store by their reputations, for example, are more likely to seek revenge if they feel they and their honor have been unfairly impugned. But the clear top-scorer on the vengefulness scale is the person high in narcissistic traits.
Caught up into the presence of the Trinity, we are able to pray “slay the wicked” because ultimately this prayer proceeds from the mouth of Jesus, the only one who can perfectly execute justice and mercy. Thus in one important sense all our prayers are “thy will be done.”
When God brings vengeance, his heart is not to just get back at people. He is executing justice. Because God is just, where there is wrong or sin committed, then justice must be served. Whenever God would bring judgment on a people it is because their sin had reached a point where he could no longer hold it back.
Wrath often reveals itself in the wish to seek vengeance. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the neutral act of anger becomes the sin of wrath when it is directed against an innocent person, when it is unduly strong or long-lasting, or when it desires excessive punishment.
Let time pass. Over time, you will process your emotions, and the desire for revenge will become less intense. As time passes, you will lose interest in seeking revenge, and focus on what is important in life. As time passes, things are put into perspective.
The Long-Term Effects of Revenge
But in fact, revenge has the opposite effect. Even though the first few moments feel rewarding in the brain, psychological scientists have found that instead of quenching hostility, revenge prolongs the unpleasantness of the original offense.
Try reminding yourself: “I can make it through this.” “It could be worse.” “I will move forward.” Direct your anger in a constructive way. Try finding a healthy, fun outlet for the negative emotions such as dancing, cooking or exercise to release endorphins.
Jesus Christ called the Holy Spirit "Spirit of Truth" (John 14:17; 15:26; John 16:13) and warned us, "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men" (Matthew 12:31).
God will deal justly with the wicked. It would be unjust for God to let evil continue forever, so He sets a time limit for the evil doers to continue in their sin. Then its over and they face judgment, or the harvest off the bad seed they've sown. God will judge those who have hurt His kids now.
“Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them” (Romans 12:14, NLT). If I'm honest, this verse is hard to swallow, especially when I've been really hurt.