Not ours to Seek

I have been thinking a lot about Confession this past week.  Not because I never go and feel guilty as a result.  I do go.  I have thought about it a lot because something my priest said to me has stuck in my head. Justice is not ours to seek. 

I had a situation that I was dealing with.  And so I did what most of us do - in my head I plotted and played out one scenario after the other.  Whilst driving, whilst watching TV, it mulled around in my head with great regularity.  What I could do to make the situation even.  Cause the same problems for others that had been caused for us.  Play acting.  Knowing that these were simply mental images, played to make me feel better. Revenge. Vengeance. Avenging the wrongs. 

And then I was reminded.  Justice is not ours to seek.  Romans 12:19 "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

As a mom I remind my children that not everyone they encounter in life will be a friend.  Not everyone will always be loyal and sometimes those that wrong us are not enemies, they are those we give the most time and effort to.  When we decide to allow this anger and hurt to consume us, we simply add fuel to an already fast burning fire.  

Matthew Henry says "those that revenge are conquered, and those that forgive are conquerors". 

However it is often hard to remind ourselves of this, hard not to follow human nature and create mental scenarios of an eye for an eye.  But in Confession, in the presence of God and guided by our Catholic priest, I was reminded again ..... it is not ours to seek. 

Till next time
Take a Leap of Faith