This verse runs counter to the overriding culture. The world tends to be a place where

vengeance rules. And that if someone treats us poorly or with evil intentions, it is easy to

repay the person in the same way that they treated us.

I image that this is not unique to our world today, for in many ways this seems to be

human nature and the way the world has operated for a long time—if not forever.

However, Paul is calling us to a higher standard. Paul is wanting the church in Rome

and in many ways all Christians to behave in a different way. Paul is stating that when

we have been made righteous in the eyes of God, this should impact the way we live our

lives. See the beginning of chapter 12 (therefore, I appeal to you brothers and sisters to

offer yourselves as a living sacrifice). One way that this change should be manifested

within the lives of Christians is that we overcome evil with good.

The difficulty is that this is hard to live out. It is only natural to want to repay people

who do us wrong with what we feel is their ‘just reward.’ Rather than what is our natural

tendency, Paul is telling us that we should love those who hurt us. That we should love

our enemies. That we should not seek revenge, but rather show love.

It is when we show love to others, especially those who may hurt us or sin against us, that

hopefully they and others can seek Christ at work within our lives and they can see how

God can transform people and that they would want to also be transformed by the love of

Christ.

Think about how the world would change, if we began to live out Paul’s advice here.

Rather than seeking payback, we offer forgiveness. Rather than seeking to gain

revenge, we show love. Sometimes big changes begin with small actions and large scale

transformation begin with a couple of people. If we truly seek to follows Paul’s words

here, we might make a huge difference within our community and ultimately the world.