I just read a VERY interesting devotion in a book by Ed Strauss called The Super Heroes Devotional.
It's about the Avengers - the movie version - and how Avenging is not something WE are to do, as avenging is something that is more akin to REVENGE than DEFENDING.
Strauss goes on to say that just because we are to 'turn the other cheek' and not seek personal retribution, it does not mean that evil gets to run rampant. There are laws and police officers and judges that are supposed to help maintain order by bringing social punishment to those that break the law. This is not something I had actually put thought to, but it's true!
What about personal protection? In this day and age of 'guns are bad' it can be socially UN-acceptable to take responsibility for your personal or family's protection, but I maintain that this is NOT avenging in the sense of revenge, but is protecting from evil by stopping a threat.
A fellow church member said very tongue in cheek to me, "the Bible says to carry a gun!" When asked to elaborate he quoted this from Luke 22, verse 36 - "he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Yes, he meant that particular quote as tongue in cheek, but at the same time as Strauss points out, we are defenders as described in Psalm 82:3 NIV - "Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed."
So in addition to being defenders of the faith, I believe we are correct in being prepared to defend the weak. Who is the weak? Anyone that faces a deadly threat! If they were stronger than the threat, it would not be a grave or deadly threat.
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