When YHWH does for my lord all the good He promised and appoints you ruler over Israel, there will not be remorse or a troubled conscience for my lord because of needless bloodshed or my lord's revenge. - 1 Samuel 25:30
In this biblical narrative, David wanted to kill Abigail's husband (Nabal, aka "Fool") because he had not treated David with the respect that he felt he deserved. Abigail convinced him to do otherwise. She proposed to David that it would be a mistake for the future king of Israel to allow himself to be dragged into a senseless act of revenge by an unthinking idiot like her husband. She deduced that an act of revenge might bring momentary satisfaction, but the remorse and troubled conscience that followed would soon surpass any feeling of victory.
Have you ever wanted revenge? Perhaps it was warranted, perhaps not, but there is no quicker way for a Christ-follower to mar their testimony than to react in anger.
So what do you do when you are treated with an intolerable lack of respect? Don't react, respond. Walk away, if you can. Give a moment for God's wisdom to prevail and in the end let God take care of the offender. Also, try to remember who you are and whose you are, a child of the King who though reviled, did not revile in return.
Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated. - George Bernard Shaw
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