They found him dead in his favourite armchair – eyes wide open with a look of shock and disbelief. Between the rigid fingers of Ned Devine, was a lottery ticket that displayed last week’s winning numbers. The entire village were soon in on a crafty plan, except for a miserable old lady who was the one villager who refused to be an accomplice to their scheme. As Ned’s jackpot was a substantial sum of money, their plan was to defraud Camelot by getting someone to pose as him and then share out the winnings between them.
But the lady who refused to join in with the conspiracy wasn’t doing so because it was immoral – no, curmudgeon Lizzie Quinn’s only aim in life was to make everyone as narky as her. Plus, if she could report them for the fraud, she would claim a ten per cent award of the winnings. This would be a whopping 700,000 of Irish money. She knew that while they were focussing on their clandestine plot, they would be oblivious to the fact that she had a game plan of her own. There was no direct reason for her revenge – the only wrong they had done her was refusing to be as miserable as she was. So, she began to connive a covert strategy that would bring down the inhabitants of Tulaigh Mhór.
How many times has somebody come along and tried to ruin your plans? You had it all worked out in your head then, ‘Bam!’ an interfering sourpuss pours water on your fire.
For some of you, it was a job promotion that another procured because they were successful in tarnishing your character or making it look like they were working harder than you.
For others, it was that boyfriend stolen from right under your nose.
For others still, it was that loan payment given out in generosity and trust, but never repaid.
It could even be an accident that occurred, but then the one at fault did not show true remorse; like a doctor who administered the wrong medicine to your loved-one or ignored you when you knew there was something seriously wrong with your baby. They are now brain damaged or dead and nobody seems to care.
We are angry and desire retribution like nothing else and a lack of self-control means we often do. This is because it is acutely frustrating when it seems like the offender is getting away with it scot-free. We humans want to see justice done immediately.
Don’t worry and don’t take revenge. God promises that *we reap what we sow. He sees everything and so long as we commit the situation to him, ask him to help us forgive and then move on, he will see you right. It doesn’t mean we should look forward to gloating over the sudden misfortune of the one who upset us – it means that we can get on with our lives in a state of complete peace.
Retaliation is not healthy and vengeance is best left to the Expert, as he also knows when to administer grace. Payback may not be immediate, but it will come. Whether you live to see it or not is not your business. It is enough that we will live to see him turn bad around for the good if we rely on him to sort things out, rather than ourselves.
For the lady in the film ‘Waking Ned Devine’, it was being thrown over the edge of the cliff while telephoning the police in a phone box. A driver coming up the hill lost control and knocked the entire kiosk onto the rocks below.
So, when people frustrate you, how do you get revenge? Don’t. Trust that there is someone much wiser than you who knows what to do. Leave the situation in the hands of God.
*Galatians 6:7-9
