Revenge is a Dish Best Served ... Never

I read a curious article by Kirsten Powers on the topic of “revenge” and it really got me thinking.

Powers refers to a podcast by Julia Louis-Dreyfus who interviewed Fran Lebowitzon about her two greatest needs: smoking cigarettes and plotting revenge.

Now, I think cigarettes are stupid. Paying money to stick something in your mouth, setting it on fire, knowing that you’ll instantly start smelling like a rotting camel and will die a premature and painful death does not appeal to me.

But revenge, I can relate to that! Going John Wick or Count of Montecristo on all those people who did me wrong. Oh, I’ve been there! I’ve thought about it, fantasized about it, and in limited instances even done it.

Let me add, there’s a difference between seeking justice, recompense, and vengeance.

The first two are fine, the third is morally fraught with danger to the self and to others.

The Scriptures actually do deal with this topic of why revenge is wrong.

First, God repeatedly declares “vengeance is mine” (Deut 32:35; Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). God is the one who rights wrongs and puts things to right. Justice is never meted our by victims, but by the judge.

Second, we do not repay anyone “evil for evil” (Rom 12:17; 1 Thess 5:15; 1 Pet 3:9) because retaliation leads to a never-ending cycle of violence. If we all run around taking “an eye for an eye” then we will live in a world of one-eyed men and women.

Third, the best place this is argued is in Paul’s letters to the Romans. Paul contends in Rom 12:17-21 against a culture of retaliation and revenge, as is commonly repeated among Hellenistic Jews, they must not “repay evil for evil” (e.g. Jos. Asen. 18.14; 23.9) and instead see themselves as paragons of civic virtue (Prov 3:4) and peacemakers who depart from evil and do good (Ps 33:15 [LXX]). In support of that claim, Paul makes an explicit citation of Deut 32:35 about leaving vengeance to God and an allusion to Prov 25:21-22 about assisting one’s enemies. This disposition constitutes Paul’s primary proof of refusing evil and embracing the good. For in the end, good triumphs over evil not by replicating it, but by rejecting it and replacing it with a love shorn of all hypocrisy and hatred.

While revenge can seem like an easy to fix our hurts, it is not the same as justice. In addition, the pursuit of punitive revenge may prevent us from moving and finding closure, which can impact our emotional well-being. Ultimately, forgiveness and finding peaceful resolutions are more effective in promoting healing and growth, for both ourselves, and for those who wronged us.

Or, as it says in the Talmud, the best revenge is a life well-lived!