Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Romans 12:14
How often have I read this verse and others like it, thinking, “Yes, of course.” It’s easy to bless and not curse when we are at peace. It is an entirely different matter in the face of perceived unrighteousness and or injustice.
Just to be clear…
Strongs Concordance
Bless – eulogéō (Greek) to praise, celebrate with praises, consecrate a thing with solemn prayers, to ask God’s blessing on a thing.
Curse – kataráomai (Greek) to curse, doom, imprecate evil upon.
Amir Tsarfati is a Messianic Jew (a Jewish Christian). He describes himself as a “Believer | Husband | Father | Bible Teacher | Best Selling Author| Conference Speaker | Middle East News Commentator | Founder and President of Behold Israel…” I follow him on Telegram because he lives in Israel and is, in my opinion, the best source for Middle Eastern news involving Israel. Millions of Christians around the world follow him across multiple social media channels. While I disagree with his pretribulation of rapture eschatology, the fact remains that Israel is the proverbial canary in the coal mine regarding the events and timing of the current Aeon.
Amir is, in many ways, brilliant when it comes to Israel in Old Testament prophecy. His brotherly love for his Jewish brethren and fellow believers is apparent to all his followers. Still, I have never seen anything that even remotely resembles prayer for his enemies. Rather he celebrates the demise of the “demon-possessed” killers of his people.
I say this by way of observation, not judgment.
I am a former US Marine and my sympathetic nervous system is hard-wired to fight more than it is to flee or freeze. Hence I am well acquainted with the overwhelming desire and impetus
“to locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat.“
Marines.mil
I felt that same impetus when the Al Asqa Flood perpetrated against Israel by Hamas took place in October 2023. Not long after I watched some Israeli troops repeatedly running over a member of Hamas with a military Humvee. And while I was disturbed at that lack of humanity displayed by the Israelis, I wasn’t nearly as enraged as I was at Hamas. I found this to be especially interesting because individual Jews who reject Jesus are no different in God’s eyes than individual members of Hamas who reject Jesus. Mark 16:16 I bolded individual because the land of Israel and the organization called Hamas are not the same in God’s eyes. Hamas, which means “violence” in Hebrew is and will be destroyed. See Zephaniah 2 for a deep dive into this subject.
In this post, we are talking about the human propensity to rage toward self-righteous violence when we are sufficiently triggered.
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah
Psalm 4:4
The ESV and other versions translate “awe” as “anger”. Still, it’s deeper than that.
Awe
Strongs Concordance
Ragaz (Hebrew) to quiver with any violent emotion, especially anger or fear :–be afraid, disquiet, fall out, fret, move, provoke, quake, rage, shake, tremble, trouble, be wroth.
It seems that the correct response to emotional disquiet in any form, especially anger or fear, is stillness.
I would so far as to say that all anger is rooted in fear. Think about it. Fear is not a thing. Fear is the absence of faith. Faith can only be lacking where we are unsure of the truth. We can be sure of the truth to the extent that we have been transformed by the truth. Hence, Paul highlights our unmitigated anger as one of the devil’s primary tools in warring against the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Ephesians 4:25-27
Still, I always say, “Don’t fake it till you make it. Be real till you heal.” As I ponder Amir Tsarfati’s hatred for Hamas and their Palestinian supporters, I do so with the clear understanding that not only would I have cursed Hamas, but I probably would have shot, stabbed, blown up, and killed every member of Hamas any way that I could have had I been present during the Al Asqa Flood. To be honest, there is a part of me that wants to celebrate their obliteration now. Granted, my spirit man confronts my flesh with a clear knowledge of Biblical truth. But I have yet to be fully transformed and conformed to the image of God’s Son. Given the right circumstances, I am as capable of killing my neighbor as both Israel and Hamas. The fact that so many Christians are like me in that they abide by what scripture says in most but not all circumstances doesn’t help. Hence it is amidst the most controversial, hot-button topics that we must put away falsehood and speak the truth to our neighbor, for we are members of one another. How many of us listen to errors or even blatant heresy and never say a word because the truth isn’t politically correct? After all, it might spark anger or resentment in one of our siblings in Christ. Are we afraid of offending?
Or are we afraid that we might become angry and sin in response?
Both cases, are equally wrong.
My admittedly unbiblical response to Hamas is an extreme example with which a lot of believers empathize. But what if the matter is not so extreme? What if a brother or a leader in your church is behaving unbiblically? Will you approach the person and speak the truth to them? Or will you resign yourself to commiseration (to estimate falsely) with others who will sympathize and reinforce your perspective? If we do give correction is it fully in line with the scripture? Or do we proclaim, “Vengeance is mine, saith the lord!”. Do we bless them in speech all the while relishing the thought of burning coals pouring down on their head?” Thankfully, I have learned through the years that identifying my own hypocrisy is the first step in transformation. For example, I have a pastor friend who refuses to own a gun because in his own words,
“I would not even hesitate to shoot someone!”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Mathew 5:43-48
I have grown in so many ways since the day I first said yes to Jesus and offered my body as a living sacrifice. Still, one thing is certain. When I take an experiential deep dive into verses like Romans 12:14, I am confronted with the stark contrast between my wishful thinking and reality. My lack of progress toward the holiness and perfection required by Jesus is staggering at times.
Lord help me!
I don’t know if it is historical fact or Mel Gibson’s imagination, but it seems that the correct response to persecution, violence, or any other perceived injustice that sparks fear and then anger within us must flow from a place of stillness as modeled by Jesus before Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas in the Passion of the Christ.
It may also be worth considering the role of prayer in entering that unalterable place of stillness. What was Jesus feeling, and what was he tempted to do as He sweat drops of blood while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His arrest?
This discussion will become increasingly relevant in the next chapter. This week let’s examine the areas of our lives where we continually fail to,