According to Pope Francis,” Retaliation never leads to conflict resolution. You did this to me; I will do it back to you. This never resolves conflict, nor is it Christian.” His Holiness went on to state that retaliation is a chain of evil. But some Christians have often fallen short here; they prefer the law of retaliation instead of seeking true justice through law of love. BETTY AMUKPO asks, “Is it right to retaliate? Read the responses of some children.
‘Do not repay anyone evil for evil’
It is not right to retaliate. Romans 12:17-21 says “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.” Therefore “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.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Matthew 5:38-41 also talked about how wrong it is to retaliate, for the battle is of the Lord. He will surely fight for us.
• Obiefuna Chika
‘Relialiation is bad, two wrongs don’t make a right’
Retaliation is like two steps backwards; instead of forging ahead one is moving backwards. People who seek revenge instead of forgiving or letting go, tend to feel worse in the long run. It is not right to retaliate; it brings about hatred, violence, malice, unforgiveness, pain and suffering. God said we should never pay evil for evil. That it is His to repay. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Hebrews 10:30 says,” It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” Retaliation is bad and should never be indulged in.
• Victoria Okefe
‘Never take your own revenge’
Those who follow Christ are commanded to never avenge themselves whether the hurt comes from fellow believers or not. As a child of God, revenge is not good. Proverbs 20:22 says do not say I will repay evil, wait for the Lord and He will deliver you. It is better to repay evil with good. According to 1 Peter 3, Jesus did not retaliate and because of this we strive to forgive and have new life. Retaliation is negative energy; it pushes us away from God’s sight and plan. As Christians, we are to forgive one another, so that the love, mercy and grace of God will always abide in us. Never pay back evil for evil. Romans 12:17-21 says be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord.”
• Anita Chima
‘Do not revenge for the Lord will revenge for you’
Retaliation means to do something to somebody because they have harmed or hurt you first. Is it good to retaliate? No, it is not good to retaliate because if you retaliate, you follow the Law of Moses which says a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, instead of the law of God which says love your neighbour as you love yourself and be your brother’s keeper. Do not retaliate; rather forgive, for the Bible says in Matthew 18:22 “Forgive as many as seventy times seven. In Matthew 18:21-35, is a parable of an unforgiving steward. When a servant was owning his master millions of pounds and begged for him to be patient then the servant went out and saw his fellow disciple owing him a few pounds and he threw the fellow servant and his family into jail. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 and Romans 12:19 say, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves but rather leave it to God’s wrath. For do not retaliate nor avenge because the Lord says “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” To read more on this scripture about revenge, read Proverbs 20:22, Jeremiah 29:7 and Matthew 5:38-45. Do not revenge for the Lord will revenge for you.
• Anyasor Chibuike Raphael
‘Retaliation is not right, Jesus did not turn His back on us even though we did evil to Him’
What does the Bible say about retaliation? To retaliate is to return in like kind. Usually, we speak of retaliation in negative contexts, so it’s exclusively retuning evil for evil. Well, in my opinion I think that retaliating is not right because Jesus did not turn His back on us even though we did evil to Him, He still loves us. What the Bible says:
• Read Luke 6:27-31 and James 5:20 • Isaiah 55:9: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
• Romans 5:10: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.”
• Ojimmadu Sandra
‘Bless and do not curse’
It is not right to retaliate (Leviticus 18:19). Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people but love your neighbour as yourself. Romans 12: “Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Do not take revenge but leave room for God’s wrath for it is written.” It is Mine to revenge, I will repay says the Lord.”
• Umennadi Francis Chibunna
‘Causing another person harm will never undo the harm caused us’
No, it’s not right to retaliate. Retaliation is when we take matters out of God’s hands and insist on fixing things ourselves. The Lord says that we should not repay anyone evil for evil, that vengeance is for Him. When we want to retaliate, we should keep in mind that causing another person harm will never undo the harm already caused us. Let Love leads!
• Amaka Anthony
‘An eye for an eye makes the world go blind’
Vengeance is not right for us and an eye for an eye makes the world go blind. We should leave retaliation for God because He is the best to reward and the best to punish. We can also find that in the book of 1 Thessalonians 5:15, which reads “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”
• Eyinade Gideon
‘Revenge often creates a cycle of retaliation’
Romans 12:19-21 says it is not right to retaliate, but rather to leave vengeance to God. We should not repay evil with evil, but instead overcome evil with good. Even though the first few moments may feel rewarding, it has been discovered that instead of quenching hostility, revenge prolongs the unpleasantness of the original offence. Instead of delivering justice, revenge often creates only a cycle of retaliations.
• Arnold Akalezi
