Abundant LifeSample

No Payback

This verse seems crazily countercultural – and that’s because it is. But if we want to experience abundant life, we need to get comfortable with the reality that God’s Kingdom operates on completely different principles from the cultures and kingdoms of the world. If you’ve studied the Bible before, then you’ll know God’s ways are bewilderingly, wonderfully upside down to the world’s ways. Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other one also? Like, what? In our culture, anger is commonplace, and payback is prevalent in every sector of society. If someone harms you, then of course, you’re within your rights to harm them back.

Right? Wrong.

Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians – and to us – is not to pay back evil for evil, but instead to always try to do good to one another. I wrestle with this because I can’t stand any kind of unfairness, and I find myself wanting to do something about every injustice. I have to remind myself that God is perfectly just; He’s the most righteous being in the universe. I also get angry very easily, so I constantly have to tell myself not to repay evil for evil, but to try and do good to others instead. Not only does this verse go against what our society encourages, it’s also contrary to what our flesh wants to do (and by flesh I mean our natural selves – the impulses and disordered desires that make us tick apart from the transforming work of Jesus in our lives). The Spirit of God in us wants to do good to others, but our flesh wants to cause retaliatory harm when we’re wronged. Many times the flesh wins, but this is a battle we must fight. We need to train the spirit to overrule the flesh.

I want to encourage you today: the next time you are wronged, instead of doing something wrong back to the person who has hurt or offended you, look for ways to do good and be kind. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. In today’s workout, there will most likely be a point at which you’ll want to give up. I challenge you to fight your flesh and push through the movement, knowing it will make you stronger. In much the same way, when you push through the discomfort of refusing to retaliate, it strengthens your spirit and leads to abundant life.

First the Word – now the Workout:

5 rounds for time // 15 kettlebell swings

15 push up burpees

15 hanging leg raises