If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. (Romans 12:20, NKJV)
It happened in high school choir practice one day. Due to our size difference, a certain boy stood on the top of the three-step stage while I, more diminutive, stood on its' lowest rung. The taller boy had been harassing me.
An opportunity came to retaliate when the music teacher left the classroom momentarily. I turned around and shoved the boy off the stage. As he came crashing down on the band's drum set, it created much noise—the cymbals filled the air with loud percussion. The music teacher rushed back into the room to inquire about what had happened. Other choir members merely said that the boy had fallen. I felt as if I was David having slew Goliath. However, in reflection, my reactive approach was ill-advised. Shoving back could have caused the boy injury and harmed school property.
You have heard it said to fight fire with fire. But what kind of fire is the Christian to wield? Is it not the flames of Christ's love? Our human nature wants to shove back in like fashion. We want the aggrieving party to experience the pain they have caused us. It's easy to justify this; after all, we can rationalise that the other party deserves what they get. But retaliation is not God's way!
Jesus is our ultimate example. He came to this earth to reconcile wayward humans back to God. In such pursuit, Jesus was slandered and abused. How did He respond? When shoved, did our Lord push back? On the contrary, "When reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten but committed Himself to Him, who judges righteously." (1 Peter 2:23).
We can undertake the judge and jury's role, but to what avail? What do we gain from striking back at those who attack us? If we search our hearts, we will know that we also "have sinned and fallen short of God's glory" (Romans 3:23). Our righteousness is self-serving at best and not to be trusted. In contrast, "God is a just judge," and "His way is perfect." (Psalm 18:30; 7:11). Therefore, we should put ourselves in His hands and not trust our human devising. Let us leave the wrongs of others to His purview.
Also, we are to turn the tables on our enemies. How? By feeding their hunger and quenching their thirst. Did not our Lord prepare a banquet table before His enemies? Surely. All can feast on God's forgiveness and reconciliation set by Jesus' supreme sacrifice. As God laid out heaven's welcome mat for His adversaries, we are to do likewise. Will this not be coals of fire upon their heads. Is this not the best way to melt their hearts? Shoving back may make a loud noise, but it works only to harden our enemies, not to thaw them. Therefore, "overcome evil with good."
