Living Well is the Best "Revenge?"
The expression, “living well is the best revenge” was quite annoying to me the first time I heard it. When someone irritates you for some reason or another, then it’s a natural instinct to want to not only show the person that they’re wrong, but let everybody know they are wrong, and perhaps hope they feel like a bad person as well. It sounds quite childish, but even the best of us are guilty of anger and wishing badly upon others.
Revenge in its purest sense isn’t ours to take in the first place. God takes care of our battles and we don’t need to dub ourselves judge over others – especially when we’ve made mistakes and have surely wronged others at some point or another. Everybody does annoying and selfish things. Of course, it’s not a free card to unapologetically keep messing things up since we naturally make mistakes from time to time, but we’re simply not in the position to judge others just because we’re angry and feel wronged.
We could very well feel wronged and have a good reason for it. However, if we decide to lash out and say something we regret - then we’re going to carry the extra weight of embarrassment in addition to whatever trouble we’ve caused. Some of us seldom remember that angry words only cause further anger. No one is going to want to apologize to someone who’s angry, rude, and disrespectful - even if they have an element of truth in their confrontation.
So, what’s the best option? Living well. It may seem annoying because we may feel a desire to make right for every wrong made against us. We feel that if we don’t set a person straight, then they will cause the harm elsewhere, and it’s our duty to stop it. Not exactly – actions do speak louder than words, and heart of discipline is guided by understanding the bigger picture - the picture that goes beyond our ego’s desire to be right and the desire for other person to be wrong.
Living well entails not letting the negativity of others affect our emotions. In this world we’re going to get hurt. Living well does not mean cutting those people off from our lives in a cold manner. However, objectively handling a conflict without letting the roots of bitterness contaminate our minds will go a long way to finding peace. The opinions of other people, especially those who may want to bring you down, are not important when you’re doing the right thing.
When we feel afraid to be defined by negativity is the moment that we feel we have to defend our character and ourselves. This is when the emotions rise up because we feel the heat of blame. If we didn’t feel some hint of truth behind it, then it wouldn’t bother us. If we keep our hands a bit dirty, then we will be emotional or distressed when we feel like it’s about to come to light.
In conclusion, the best way to live well is to live according to God, as diligently as possible. His way is perfect, and even when we mess up, we know that we’re not defined by those mistakes, but rather defined by His grace and seen as if we’re perfect. If we linger in addiction or in secret habits that are contradictory to our beliefs, we can expect a storm to brew within us – a lack of peace and contentment. When we live well, then others can blame us, but we will be less offended, and more capable to objectively confront an issue at hand when we’re confidently walk in the light. We then have nothing to hide and can effectively communicate and handle conflicts with others from a place of peace and love.
For further related reading, please check out: Reliable.
