On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. --Romans 12:20-21
There is a story of a Christian lady who owned two prized chickens. One day, they got out of their cage and wandered into the garden of an ill-tempered neighbor. When the neighbor realized the hens were loose in his yard, he caught them, wrung their necks, and threw them back over the fence hoping that would teach his neighbor a lesson.
Obviously, the woman was upset when she discovered her neighbor had killed her chickens, but she didn’t retaliate by rushing to his house to yell at him. Instead, she took the two deceased birds, dressed them, and made some chicken pot pies. She then carried one of the pies over to the man who had committed the crime.
Her children, expecting an angry scene among the two, hid behind a bush in the man’s yard to see his reaction. But when the Christian lady apologized for not being more careful about keeping her chickens penned up, they saw he was left speechless! That chicken pie he held in his hands, along with the apology, filled him with embarrassment and shame.
You see, the woman wasn’t trying to get even. She wasn’t returning evil for evil. All she wanted to do was show her neighbor the meaning of true Christian love. And her actions could have been the catalyst to bring him to faith in Christ. What a challenge this is for you and me today!
PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God to give you wisdom to do the right thing when conflicts arise between you and others. Pray that He would help you demonstrate the love of Christ so it would point others toward Jesus.
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