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. 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 12:19-21
“We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, rather than abhor and despise them, since they harm themselves and do us good, and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory while they incite God’s anger against themselves. And even more than this, we should pray for them and not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by goodness. We should heap good works like red hot coals of burning love upon their heads, as our Apostle Paul urges us to do, so that when they become aware of our tolerance and gentleness they may undergo a change of heart and be prompted to turn in love to God.”
Anthony Zaccaria (1502-1539) in his Sermon as recounted Milton Walsh in Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012) 679-680.
In the current banking crisis in which GTP has no access to our funds which have been frozen, I am realizing in real-time that our goodness, our generosity, can become our greatest witness.
Think about it. And remember I said “our” generosity. That includes us and you. Let me explain.
Zaccaria reminds us that when others wrong us, we must extend love and compassion to them rather than respond in anger. This ensures that our witness when wronged can help lead to their change of heart.
So when you or I are wronged by others, our generosity to them can lead them to the LORD.
The love we show actively heaps conviction in the form of “red hot coals of burning love” on them. When we overcome evil with good, we participate in turning evil doers to God.
But that’s not all. And if you are out there and know someone who has been hurt, help them.
This too is our witness. And I am thankful for the people who have stepped up to help GTP. Thanks for those who heard that our assets were wrongly frozen for upwards of a month and making a gift.
What difference can your gift make in a time of crisis?
GTP has 10 staff who work with more than 100 volunteers in 112 countries with a budget of about $750,000. To have all our accounts frozen for weeks poses a huge hardship.
We made payroll last week but we have bills to pay and program work to fund.
We have forgiven those who have wronged us and appreciate any support you can share here. How we show compassion to evil doers and generous care for each other in crisis is a great witness!
and it can even lead those who have harmed us to have a change of heart.