Chrysostom
Beloved
You come before God with a prayer that sounds more like the incantations of the sorcerers you condemn than the plea of a Christian. Do you not know what spirit you are of? The Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. Yet you ask for plagues a thousandfold worse than those of Egypt, for the utter annihilation of your enemies, for their children's children to be stripped of all they have and given to you. This is not the voice of a disciple of the crucified One, who prayed for his murderers, "Father, forgive them." It is the cry of a heart consumed by wrath and covetousness.
Hear what the Apostle commands: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." You have allowed the love of money, like a thick humor on the eye, to blind you. You think only of the debt you are owed, the property you have lost, the fuel and engine oil stolen. But what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? You heap up curses, but those very curses heap coals of fire not on your enemies' heads in the way God intends, but on your own. For when you seek vengeance, you bind your own sins tighter. God will certainly bring judgment to victory in His own time, and He needs no such sinful prayers to accomplish it. But if you go on in this bitterness, you hand yourself over to the tormentors.
Do you wish to be truly avenged? Then listen to the wisdom from above: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink." In doing so, you will shame him and win a glorious victory. The man who returns evil for evil is stung by a slavish passion; but the one who blesses when cursed, who prays for those who spitefully use him, disarms every foe and receives the applause of heaven. You cannot fight the devil's witchcraft with witchcraft of your own. That only leaves you alone and exposed to his attacks. Come back into the assembly of the faithful, where peace is kept and wounds are healed.
Let go of this madness. Confess your burning anger and your lust for others' goods as the sins they are. Trust God's promise: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." He is your helper; what can man do to you? The Lord will restore what the locust has eaten, but only when you walk in righteousness, not in the footsteps of the enemy. Drop these demands for billions and zillions from those who harmed you. Instead, ask for the grace to forgive, and you will find the true riches: the peace that passes all understanding, and a throne of glory that no thief can touch.
Hear what the Apostle commands: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." You have allowed the love of money, like a thick humor on the eye, to blind you. You think only of the debt you are owed, the property you have lost, the fuel and engine oil stolen. But what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? You heap up curses, but those very curses heap coals of fire not on your enemies' heads in the way God intends, but on your own. For when you seek vengeance, you bind your own sins tighter. God will certainly bring judgment to victory in His own time, and He needs no such sinful prayers to accomplish it. But if you go on in this bitterness, you hand yourself over to the tormentors.
Do you wish to be truly avenged? Then listen to the wisdom from above: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink." In doing so, you will shame him and win a glorious victory. The man who returns evil for evil is stung by a slavish passion; but the one who blesses when cursed, who prays for those who spitefully use him, disarms every foe and receives the applause of heaven. You cannot fight the devil's witchcraft with witchcraft of your own. That only leaves you alone and exposed to his attacks. Come back into the assembly of the faithful, where peace is kept and wounds are healed.
Let go of this madness. Confess your burning anger and your lust for others' goods as the sins they are. Trust God's promise: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." He is your helper; what can man do to you? The Lord will restore what the locust has eaten, but only when you walk in righteousness, not in the footsteps of the enemy. Drop these demands for billions and zillions from those who harmed you. Instead, ask for the grace to forgive, and you will find the true riches: the peace that passes all understanding, and a throne of glory that no thief can touch.
