Some verses in scripture will always have direct application to our lives, no matter what circumstances we’re facing at a particular moment.
Proverbs 25:21-22 is such a verse.
“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”
You might not be at war with another person just now but there is almost certainly somebody in your life who views you in a less than friendly manner. It might not make sense to you, but whoever said life has to always make sense?
Some people dislike us simply because of the life we have and not because of how we’ve treated them.
They’re angry at life, in effect, and are taking it out on those they envy or who remind them of past culprits they can’t now punish.
Whatever the case, the biblical response to unfair treatment is to show mercy.
For in showing mercy, we show faith.
We show that pleasing God is more important than pleasing our “payback” cravings rooted in pride.
There’s not just spiritual wisdom in King Solomon’s advice, but also practical.
The reality is that we’re not going to persuade the heart of an enemy through retaliation, but instead through kindness.
For it is through our kindness that the influence and authority of THE Higher Power can begin to permeate the mind and heart of the antagonist.
That’s why Solomon used the phrase “heap burning coals on his head.”
Our kindness in response to meanness serves as a seed that can’t easily be brushed out of the antagonist’s mind.
Of course, it’s not easy to be nice to one who is being mean or cold or disrespectful to us.
That’s why our doing so is such a blessing to God.
He knows that our behavior is rooted in the desire to please Him and set a good example for the antagonist.
Praise God today, my friend, by being intentionally nice to someone who is the opposite toward you.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
As always, I love you
Martin
