Never pay back evil for evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honest clear through. Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands. Romans 12:17-19 (TLB)
In this broken world, people are going to hurt us. Sometimes it will be unintentional. The person will not realize that they hurt you. In other cases, the person may have made a choice to take an action that causes hurt in your life.
When we are hurt, we can choose to pay them back for what they did or let God take care of it. We are encouraged not to avenge ourselves and to let God repay those who deserve it. God is just, but He is also merciful. He sees not only the actions of the individual, but also the intentions and motives of the person. He knows who deserves repayment for their actions and how to repay them.
We don’t always get what we deserve for the mistakes we have made. The payment for our sin is death and eternal separation from God, but His gift of eternal life is available to everyone (Romans 6:23). When we remember that, it makes it easier to live at peace with others. We can treat them with the mercy God has shown us. We can do our best to be honest and clear with others. We can choose to extend mercy and let God decide who is deserving of anything else.