God’s Way to Fight Fire!

William Shakespeare, in his play Henry VIII, has a character warn about the danger of seeking revenge: "Heat not a furnace for thy foe so hot it do singe yourself." That quote brings to my mind another anonymous saying I ran across somewhere along the way – "When you’re tempted to fight fire with fire, remember the fire department usually uses water." The Bible speaks to the human desire to retaliate and seek revenge in a very direct and sobering way in Romans 12:17-21 – "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." That passage describes God’s way to fight fire! It calls for a radically different reponse to evil and unjust treatment than we often see in our world. Instead of paying back in kind – eye for eye, tooth for tooth – the Lord calls on us to "kill our enemy with kindness." Some would say that’s weak and passive, but the cross of Christ says just the opposite. At the cross evil and injustice was heaped upon Jesus in verbal and physical ways and to an extent that stun and numb our minds. But the people who blasphemed and cursed and abused the Son of God that day did not crucify an angry, bitter, vengeful man. On the contrary, Jesus stayed and prayed on the cross that God would forgive His tormentors (Luke 23:34). He didn’t fight fire with fire. Instead, He rose above the evil and overcame it with good.

Fire, of course can be a good thing, used to provide heat and light and cook our food. But fire, including the emotional kind we call "anger," so easily burns out of control. The Bible calls on us to recognize our anger, deal with it appropriately, then put it out! Ephesians 5:26-27 says, " ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." As Colin Powell said, "Get mad, then get over it." If we don’t do that, we end up fighting fire with more fire. The emotional heat increases until the anger reaches a boiling point and turns to rage. Evil escalates as someone strikes back, doing some odd and evil thing to get even, increasing the heat. Eighteen years ago (3/22/2000) a usatoday.com article reported about a woman who had surgical scissors lodged in her chest for 10 years. The Guyana Medical Association reported that Roman Soman, 43, did not know the scissors were there until she went to the state-run Georgetown Hospital for treatment after she said her husband attacked her with an ice-pick and a knife. X-rays revealed the instrument, apparently forgotten after a chest operation performed at the same hospital in 1990. Surgery was scheduled the week the incident was reported. Common sense tells us there are things (like a pair of scissors) we just ought not to be carrying around inside us. Don’t harbor anger and resentment and a desire for revenge. It will burn others, and you. God has another way of fighting fire, if only more people would use it. Think about it.

By: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN