Don't testify against your neighbor without cause. Don't deceive with your lips. 

Don't say, "I'll do to him what he did to me; 

I'll repay the man for what he has done."

Proverbs 24:28-29 CSB

This proverb is not saying that there shouldn't be accountability.

Or justice.

Or restitution.

It's about my heart and my thirst for revenge. 

Two people I know have had their homes invaded and possessions stolen in the last couple of weeks. If they discover who the offenders are and go and take their possessions does this solve anything?

Maybe.

And will revenge lead to another round, and another, and another?

Justice, accountability, heart change, seeing the hurt our actions cause, making things right, these are all BIG issues for us, for our communities, for our world. 

This proverb isn't saying there's an easy answer to complex problems, it does recognise that we get hurt, offended against, and is also asking us to look into our hearts and what's going on there, and what we're allowing to move us, to shape us...to not let the (evil) actions of others define us.

#proverbs

#wisdom

#somethingtochewon