MUTUAL LOVE SERIES – “Do Not Repay evil for evil” (08/21/2025)
- Dr. Kate Wiskus
- Aug 21, 2025
- 1 min read
“Do not repay evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all (Rom. 12:17).”
Most of us, as toddlers, were taught by our parents to “play nice” – “don’t hit”, “don’t hit back”, “share”. That’s because our parents wanted us to grow into loving and kind and generous human beings. And if we really think about it, they were also trying to teach us that it isn’t so much what happens to us as how we handle what happens to us that matters.
In Paul’s list of duties for Christians in Romans 12, he speaks to this directly. He reminds us that we are to set our sights beyond the immediate moment and immediate hurt. He exhorts us to seek what is right over revenge for a wrong.
When the driver behind us honks and uses hand signals in the air, will we be able to keep our emotions in check and our desire for loving kindness at the forefront of our mind?
Today’s world is full of loving kindness and beauty. It is also full of hurtful rhetoric, violence, crime, and anger. What will we focus on? What will we seek to further?
As we journey in faith, let us be buoyed by hope and fueled by love. May we be able to stay focused on our loving Savior’s footsteps rather than the missteps of others. Let us “be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all” and what is holy in the sight of our LORD.
Until tomorrow, let us all love well.
That's not an easy ask. As I have advocated for my mother for a memory care home with good doctors and caring staff, the word that comes to mind about them (thank you) is noble. It is something to seek to gain. I see it in the young nursing staff. I do not see it in the rest of the world. What's worse, is my young adult sons are growing up in this world of hurt. Perhaps teaching them nobility will enable them to be humble and seek Christ.