It is amazing how the knowledge of God could take years for man to discern. The wisdom of God can only come to true understanding by the revelation of the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 2:6-10] into the spirit of man. But if man wants to use the mind (which is not bad to do anyway) to understand God’s wisdom, then man has to be ready to spend some time in observation, experience, and eventually revelation.

I know we have all heard “Tit for Tat” and we have developed our own understanding of it per how we saw it done, or how we experienced it. But I would like to show you something the Holy Spirit revealed to me about Tit for Tat. I am not about to judge you. Don’t worry. I am rather here to reveal some knowledge to you, so that you may have more understanding to live in wisdom. Amennnn? …Lol

Tit for Tat: A scriptural example of this can be found in the book of Matthew chapter 5:38. It reads, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth’…”

Tit for Tat is letting someone suffer also for any wrong deed he’s done to you; something like a cold revenge. Even though it is said that revenge is best served cold, I am here to give you a different view about our ‘friend, Tit for Tat’. When you act Tit for Tat on somebody, even though it may feel good, and make you feel wise, what you have actually done is that you have made the first offender break even. Thus, he says, “Well, he made me pay for what I did to him. There is no need to feel sorry for what I did to him anyway. I am even now.” Even if what you did in revenge really hurt the person to your satisfaction, you would have found yourself in evil. Because if you say you are a Christian, your Heavenly Kingdom ‘constitution’ says that don’t pay evil with evil, but pay evil with good so that people may see that you are a disciple of God, and also that your light will shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, God in heaven. So, if you ‘Tit’ every/any Tat, have you obeyed your God, your Heavenly Father? Obviously No. Even though the cold revenge/Tit for Tat may have made you feel good about yourself, it served no good. On the other hand, the person who did you wrong wouldn’t have ‘repented’ from his wrong act. Rather, he will get used/immume to your paying back, and continue to do it if it brings him convenience. In the long run, no good was accomplished.

But if we go along the ‘painful’ route of God’s wisdom which says, “But I tell you, ‘Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (thus take double pain). But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [Matthew 5:39, 43-48]

Romans 12:17-21_ “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 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 12:20-21 _ on the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL, BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD.

I tell you, doing this will hurt a double, but let me prove to you that this hurt is only a skin of it, filled with huge muscles of goodness your mind couldn’t have comprehended. This is why when God instructs us to do something and we don’t understand it at the time, we should do it anyways knowing that God is faithful, truthful, and wise.

So back to the muscles of goodness in this skin of pain/hurt. Should you obey God’s Word and painfully do good to that ‘a**’ anyway, what you would have done are as follows; 1. You would have obeyed God and proven to all that you love God, and respect Him.

2. You would heaped burning coals on this person’s head that it will let him feel the pain of his previous wrong deed.

3. He will be convicted of his sins, and may even come back to truly apologize to you. If he doesn’t come to apologize to you because he/she is shy, the better. Because as long as the burning coals are on his/her head, he/she will never do what he did to you ever again, and may even ‘evangelize’ the opposite of his bad action/deed to his/her children, or his/her surroundings.

4. You will eventually feel at peace in your heart.

5. Your relationship with God wouldn’t have been traded for a flimsy, passing emotion of payback.

6. You would be a person of integrity, and God will remember your painful labor of love and forgiveness and bless you.

7. Above all, you would have won a soul for God.

Do you see all these muscles of goodness behind the thin skin of hurt of emotions you may be feeling? Actually, the emotional hurt you are feeling will fade away in no time. Funny enough, when you obey God and despise your hurt emotions, in no time, the emotional hurt will be replaced with a fulfillment feeling of obeying God.

Choose God!

Amazingly, He even says that He will surely repay the person for you. He will avenge your case. Then why trouble yourself with bitterness and hurt which will only lead you to hell eventually? God is all-knowing, and if He says he will avenge your case, I bet you know He knows the exact button to press to let this person feel the judgment of his wrong deeds against you. He is your Heavenly Father, and He wouldn’t stand there passively and watch people hurt you. All that He is asking of you is for you to trust Him even when it doesn’t make sense to you, so that He can have the space to deal with your enemies, while you obey His Word.

Let’s look at an instance in the Bible; the Israelites had no idea how to make the Egyptians pay for their cruelty if they had wanted to revenge. But God knew exactly how. And when He was through with the Egyptians, not only did his ‘salvation/revenge’ make the Israelites have much reverence for God, but they saw the glory of God for real: It built their faith in God. Before the Egyptians perished, they saw the hand of God fight against them for the Israelites. Read the details of this truth in the Bible from Exodus 14:10-31. Amen.

To conclude my admonishing today, I would like to tell you that, even though Tit for Tat may make you feel good, it is poison to your spiritual muscles, and even your physical being, as well as your emotional wellbeing. You deserve better. You deserve peace. And all that is in Christ Jesus. So I ask, “What is a skin (good feeling of tit for tat) without good muscles (pure peace from the obedience of God’s Word) to keep it in shape and form?

CHOOSE GOD OVER ANYTHING EVERY TIME!

Matthew 7:13-14 _ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to LIFE, and only a few find it.”

“For the wages of sin is DEATH, but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord.” _ Romans 6:23.

Romans 3:23 _ “FOR ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 8:6 _ “The MIND of sinful man is DEATH, but the MIND controlled by the Spirit is LIFE and PEACE.

Do you want peace?

                                                            Do you want life?

                                                                        Do you want to have the last laugh as God avenges your case against your enemies and wrong doers?

Then choose His ways, not the ways of the world.

Kick Tit for Tat out of your heart into hell.

Amen.