Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. Psalm 37:8
The Holy Spirit and the writers of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are well aware of the problem of injustice and how being wronged affects the human spirit.
Consider the following verses:
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. -Psalm 73:1-3 (The entire Psalm is worth reading)Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? -Job 21:7
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. Proverbs 23:17
There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 8:14
You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? Jeremiah 12:1
Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly. Deuteronomy 32:35
Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Proverbs 30: 7-9
The terrorism caused by Christopher Dorner, the "rogue ex-cop cop-killer" in California shows how easily humans become vindictive when they seek to vindicate themselves.
Those who are Christians are commanded to keep their minds only on what is lovely, just, and of good report. Christians are encouraged to understand not to judge events in this world by the world's standards but to remember what true wealth is.
To train one's mind to see the material and social losses in our life as nothing compared to spiritual gain
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, Philippians 3:8
Throughout history, anger, jealous, and weariness with the injustice of the world has been responsible for many deaths, especially when a weapon is near at hand.
Comments