Burning Coals

Imagine if everything you did upset the people who hate you.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12:9-21

People who live on the street would never repay evil with good.  For them, any sign of weakness could cause them harm and possibly even death.  So, the idea that one could overcome evil with good would be foreign to them, laughable, even.

The rest of what Paul is saying here is a lot easier to do.  

We can weep and mourn with those who mourn and we can be hospitable to everyone, and we can even be nice to people who are not nice to us, but standing down when attacked is taking it a bit too far, right?

Now, in front of a crowd perhaps, standing down could be a good strategy.  Peer pressure could be at work to cause the one who is evil to be shamed.  In fact, that is what works, when the crowd has the same moral compass Paul is describing, but lately crowds seem to want blood.

So, it probably works better if we are all on the same page.  If we all seek the good for ourselves and others, the ones who seek evil have no chance to work their craft.

In that case, it would be like heaping burning coals on them to return good for evil.

I guess we will all have to set the example and hope others follow, or we will never be a loving community.

More to come...