Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. — Proverbs 20:22

Through junior high school, I was never the big man on campus. I was a little shorter and smaller than most other kids and trying to figure out what it meant to be a young man. I was raised by a single mother who was rarely around and had little exposure to men. So during my teens, I got a lot of my understanding of manhood from television and movies. Two movie series were very influential in my understanding of manhood — a series of Rocky and Rambo movies. And while my family still laughs at me for watching these all the time and crying at the end of Rocky 1, there is still this childhood connection I have with them.

One particular emotion I experience while watching these movies is this rising feeling of a need for vengeance for a person or persons treated unjustly. And Rocky and Rambo seemed to be the iconic men who lived to make right an injustice. And the subtle teaching I gained from these movies was that real men seek vengeance for those treated unjustly.

But as I got older, I learned something different about vengeance. It's that no man is righteous. Therefore no man can rightly take revenge. In addition, I discovered it is tough for a man to regulate his vengeance without exceeding the injury of the crime. You see, when a man acts in vengeance, he unleashes a fury of anger and evil that is impossible to mediate. This is why in the Old Testament Law, we were given the lex talionis. Now some of you may ask, what is the lex talionis. But you know this legal term. It's a Latin phrase for the law that reads this way:

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. — Exodus 21:24

And the meaning of this law is this. That the punishment for any injustice should not exceed that of the injustice. In other words, you cannot take two eyes for one. Or you cannot take two feet for one. So the punishment should not exceed that of the crime. And what we have seen replayed from the Oscars on social media for the last couple of days is just this. It's one man acting in vengeance toward another man in an attempt to seek justice for his bride. But the problem is one man overstepped the injustice of the other. Which is always what a man does when he acts in vengeance. He attempted to do something manly or masculine but failed at that moment he slapped him in the face.

Fellas, this is why vengeance is something we really need to leave to God. Only God is righteous. Therefore only he can exert righteous vengeance. There are dozens of verses to support this all over the Bible. But here is one memorable occurrence in the book of Romans. Paul said,

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." — Romans 12:19

And you have to admit God is far more positioned to measure out a righteous judgment than we are. He is far more creative and righteous than we will ever be. His son, Jesus, the only real man, took God's vengeance for our sin. He suffered innocently on a cross at the hand of sinful men so that we might know the righteousness of God. And through Jesus, we avoid God's righteous vengeance. I would say that's a pretty creative, just, vengeful, and righteous solution all at the same time. And you, in anger, will never come up with an idea that is that good. So leave vengeance to God, and let him do the delivering. He can and will deliver you.

ASK THIS: Is there a place right now you need deliverance from vengeful people?

DO THIS: Lay it down below.

PRAY THIS: Father, deliver me from vengeful people, and my own vengeful feelings. May I be your man.

PLAY THIS: Lay It Down — Matt Maher.

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