In dealing with day to day matters of life, the Christian believer is called to live a life that is very different from the systems and schemes of the world. In fact, God’s exhortation to the believer is to not be fashioned by the thinking and trends of society. This hits front and center in the area of retribution and revenge when we are wronged in some way – God’s instructions are that vengeance is his purview and not ours. There are many examples in the Scriptures of those who allowed God to deal with the evils of society without attempting to take matters into their own hands: Moses, David, Paul and of course, Jesus Christ. Taking the high road in emotionally charged situations is not easy nor does it come naturally; the natural inclination many times is revenge. The Christian, however, is called to a much higher standard, a standard that recognizes that taking the high road is:
- To know and understand God’s perspective on situations (imitators of the most High)
- To recognize and understand the value of your life and the impact of one soul on the world – you are the best chance they will ever have
- To know and understand what Jesus Christ did for you and to walk accordingly
- To see and understand the perspective of eternity (godliness good today and in the life to come)
- And the final point – it is to understand and walk with the love of God. God first loved us. We respond by loving Him and then walk according to His Word and love others