DISARMING REVENGE
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Celebrating being reunited with his father and extended family, Joseph might have thought he had made peace with his brothers. But after the death of Jacob, it became obvious that his brothers did not fully trust Joseph’s claims of forgiveness.
They were afraid he might still seek revenge for how they had treated him decades earlier. To forgive is to say, “Don’t be afraid.” At times, we may need to be careful to stop people who might abuse or exploit us or others from being able to do it again.
But we can choose to disarm ourselves, to make it clear that we will not be the ones to cause further hurt. Relationships are healed, as far as it is possible with us, by surrendering our “right” to revenge. For the good of ourselves and the good of others, we can choose not to use the weapons of fear and not be people who cause, create, or exploit fear.
Our faith gives us a special perspective on this. Like Joseph, we can trust that judgment is God’s role. He can determine whether another person’s apology is real or simply driven by fear of our revenge. We can trust that He also has an overview of our lives and can work amid, and sometimes despite, the circumstances that we find most difficult.
With these perspectives in mind, we can see how it might be possible for us to disarm the weapons of revenge, bitterness, and fear that we are tempted to employ. Instead, we can respond with kindness and generosity, overcoming evil with good (see Romans 12:21).
