When I was in elementary school, I got it into my head that I wanted a purple bicycle.  Why, I don’t know, as I have never since wanted a purple anything.

Although there was no way I was going to get a new bicycle out of this, my dad agreed to re-paint my bike any color I wanted.  My saintly father was always ready to let me help, no matter how much it impeded his efficient completion of tasks.  Consequently, I was at his side (and under his feet) whenever he did any household maintenance.

He (and I) removed the wheels, fenders, seat, pedals (while I learned about left-handed threads) and handlebars together.  We sanded and steel-wooled the frame and used a tack cloth to clean it.  He hung it from a rafter in the basement and began spray painting it.  Naturally, I wanted to help.  This, however, was not happening.  My dad explained that painting tubes from all angles is a very tricky business and that he didn’t want me to have runs in the paint.  I would have to watch.  And so, I did.  Afterwards, dad was called in to work (again).  He said we would put on a second coat in a day.

I thought I would help him while he was at work (and get my bike back on the road sooner too).  So, about an hour later, I went downstairs and began putting on a second coat.  Never mind the streaks and runs, putting on a second coat utterly ruined the first coat and guaranteed it would never set correctly. 

Ultimately, we had to completely re-sand and re-paint the bike.  My dad chided me for my impatience, but my primary motivation was not impatience, it was to do what he did – even if I had neither the knowledge nor skill to do it.

I have a friend who told me about a supervisor at his workplace who dislikes him and treats him badly, brushing up to, but not crossing, the line of illegal harassment.  This same boss is doing other shady things that my friend knows about.  As he was telling me the story, he said, “I could turn him in and maybe get him fired, but I won’t.  I’m just sitting here waiting for the burning coals.”

He was referring to Romans 12:19-21 where Paul tells us not to avenge ourselves because vengeance belongs to God.  Instead, Paul urges Christians to return good for evil and in doing this, we “heap burning coals on their heads.”

I’ve always found this verse a little shocking, but Paul instructs us to use a bad motivation (revenge) to accomplish a good action (kindness to enemies). 

If you, like me, feel a little squeamish about returning good for evil in the hopes of making your tormentors suffer, then think about it like this: handing out just punishment is like re-painting a bike.  God invites us to do the things we’re up to, like patient endurance and kind acts towards those who are unkind to us.  God also lets us know that the business of vengeance is something we not only shouldn’t do, it’s something we would only mess up if we tried.

Prayer: It’s so tempting to punch back and it’s so hard to wait.  Help me to trust that you know how to finish the job so that all of us, victims and wrong-doers alike, come out right in the end.  Amen.