You contending with me? You contending with me?!

My Dad is full of scriptural wisdom. As much as I read the bible, I can't seem to be able to quote scripture. But I'm okay with that. I need to look things up. It doesn't mean I don't know anything. I digress. So Isaiah 49:25 says, ..."For I will contend with him who contends with you."

I was complaining about work and how my hours are constantly cut and I'm sent home early. Ah, the perils of being "the new girl." It wasn't so much complaining as it was whining. I was concerned that my paychecks wouldn't be enough to cover my car payment (let's save that stupid mistake for another day, shall we?). And he told me, "The bible says that God will contend with those that contend with you." I kept saying, "what? what?" because I thought he really said something like "God is content with those who are content with you." Totally different, right?

So I started thinking about it, and I realized that God really does say "vengeance is Mine!" (Deuteronomy 32:35). It's kind of funny in that not-so-funny way. I never thought of avenging my lost wages and my hurt feelings, but it's just more proof of how much God loves me and wants the best of everything for me.



It also doesn't mean that He's going to strike each person down with a bolt of lightning. Only God knows the 5 W's and 1 H.  Rather than focusing on justice and revenge, we should overcome evil with goodness and set our sights not on revenge and resentment. God will take up our cause and see to it that justice is done - it is written.

In Romans 12:20, Paul wrote, "To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.'" At work the other day, I wasn't thinking of this scripture word for word, I was thinking of the general idea. I was busy working on something when one of the managers asked me to come in four hours later than my scheduled start time on the next day I worked. With a smile on my face, I said, "Okay," and went back to work. Throughout the day, I kept the smile on my face and over-helped her. All. Day. Long. I busted my butt being super-nice to her. I'm glad I didn't give in to evil temptation and be a snarky jerk to her.

I think the principle of the Romans scripture is to be the bigger person. Don't resort to that person's tactics or stoop to his or her level. Remain Godly in your thoughts and actions and just remember that God has your back.

So remember that those who hurt us are even more deserving of our kindness and our prayers. For remember that an unforgiving heart will surely ruin us in the end. Remember that Matthew wrote, "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (6:15).

So, the next time I get scrubbed at work (or anywhere, really), I'm going to:
- Smile
- Be the bigger person
- Forgive