Boxing Champion Ali : There are other ways to win

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to eat. In doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." Proverbs 25:21-22(N.I.V)

.Many people in the world act on “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” but as Gandhi said, pursuing this can leave the whole world blind and toothless. Jesus teaches us to “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39). Retaliation is not the solution for those who show you hatred. The solution is to neutralize their enmity by making them into friends, or taking the fight out of them by refusing to fight back. We do not lose when we fail to fight our enemies; God fights for us. “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).

In the days of old where there were no matches, a good housewife ensured that her fire was always burning by ensuring that there was a bountiful supply of firewood. Large logs would break down into burning coals covered with ash which would be fanned as necessary to continue the fire burning. Such coals could also be lent to a neighbour to start her own fire if hers had gone out. In Africa a lot of societies carried loads on their heads either wrapped, in a pot or other container, so the "heaping coals on his(or her) head" could apply, as it did in the East where people carried burdens in a container on the head. The Bible asks us to give a generous heap of coals because it is better than a miserly few in that it makes lighting of the fire more assured. In the same way we should be extravagantly generous and go the extra mile for others.

If we return good for bad, we are responding on the commandment of loving others and trusting in God’s judgment. We will be rewarded for this by God. The enemy may also feel guilty and remorseful and soften his stand due to the weight of the  injustice on his conscience, bringing him closer to God’s goodness. However, this should not be what informs our action.

How will you show love to those who treat you badly?

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“Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”~ Martin Luther King Junior

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