By Ben Quine
**This article is part of a series helping us navigate this issue of racism in our world from a Biblical perspective. To read all of Ben’s articles on this subject - click on his name above by the date published and it will sort all of this articles in one place.

A slave girl. A slave boy. They had suffered unspeakable pain. They had been separated from friends and family. He was thrown in prison because of false accusations. She was made to serve those who had likely ordered the raid on her homeland. How would they respond to those who wronged them?

Everyone’s story is different. The sins of the world, the sins of our ancestors, the sins of those close to us have inevitably brought each of us pain and suffering to varying degrees. How should we react when others commit acts of cruelty against us?

Natural human responses don’t help – holding a grudge, personally seeking revenge, escalating retaliation… none of them can replace what was lost; they can never restore. They won’t even satisfy. Unforgiveness poisons your own heart and soul, even as it embitters you toward the other person(s). It is not uncommon for retribution to escalate until whole villages and people groups are completely wiped out. Human history is replete with examples of countries at war with each other for generations — entire cultures that cannot reconcile, even today.

Sometimes a victim is given a formal legal payment for what was lost, but even that cannot heal the heart. For those who have suffered, we weep for you; we weep with you; we love you and we mourn the losses with you. But only Jesus really knows the exact hurt you have gone through. Only Christ understands every facet of your experience, no matter how large or small.

So what can be done about the pain? And how can broken relationships be restored? To answer that, let’s look at a little slave girl and a slave boy.

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy…” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before Him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” (II Kings 5:1-3 and 5:14-15)

This young Israelite girl had been ripped away from her people and forced into servitude. She could have rejoiced when she heard of Naaman’s illness. It would have been understandable if she had said, “He did this evil, now it is his turn to suffer. I hope he dies.” But that was not how she responded. Instead she showed  astounding love and care for her master. She directed him to a man who could heal him physically and guide him spiritually. She could have held a bitter grudge, but instead she sought the best for him.

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” … So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit… Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt… the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. (Genesis 37:12-36)

 [When he heard the false accusation, Potiphar’s] anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. (Genesis 39:19-23)

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you [the meaning of the dreams], there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” (Genesis 41:39-40)

So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt… You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ …And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him. (Genesis 45:1-15)

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:15-21)

The story of Joseph is one of the most powerful in the whole of Scripture. If anyone on earth might have been tempted to think they were personally authorized to exact vengeance, it would have been Joseph, a slave-turned-ruler of the greatest kingdom in the world.

How were these two people able to offer forgiveness? They had been hurt deeply, yet they were willing to be used by God.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (Romans 12:17-20)

Joseph spoke words of great truth and wisdom. He recognized that his role as a servant of the Lord was not to take vengeance himself. He did not question God’s plan, but trusted that God was working out his family’s salvation. Like the little girl in II Kings, Joseph’s response was to forgive his brothers, live with them again, and provide for their needs, even after all the pain they had caused him.

Even though we have all sinned and we all deserve God’s wrath, we are instead offered the riches of God’s love and forgiveness. This is the amazing news of the Gospel! 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful (I Corinthians 13:4-5)

Pay careful attention to how love responds when mistreated. The ESV translation says love is not “resentful,” an extremely powerful word that denotes a sense of indignation as a result of injury, insult, or wrong received; anger, ill-will, or vengeance toward the person who caused it. Other translations of this Bible passage use the phrase “keeps no record of wrongs.”

How does the quality of this love compare with your love? Do you think if you tried harder you could love like this?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Where does love that is not resentful when harmed and “keeps no record of wrongs” come from?

Despite the most horrible of circumstances, believers truly can “forgive as Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). If this seems incredible, it is because this is a supernatural occurrence — this kind of forgiveness is impossible for sinful people, and requires something external and divine. When the Holy Spirit, “living water,” creates this kind of love in us, the results are miraculous. And only when we have this living water can our hearts be fully healed.

Jesus references the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete, meaning Comforter, Counselor, or Advocate. “But the Helper [Paraclete], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26) In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) Even when there is no one else who can soothe your pain, the Lord knows it completely, and longs to lift it from you. “Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you” (I Peter 5:7).

Give your pain to Jesus. Give your anger to Jesus. Ask Him to give you His love for those who hurt you. Then in faith, forgive them and love them.

If they are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. This is the healing of the Gospel! Then you can know the same forgiveness and healing as the little slave girl and Joseph.

We’ll look into this concept more next time, a little closer to home…

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ABOUT BEN

Connect with him at Cornerstone Curriculum

Ben Quine, the second son of David and Shirley Quine, was blessed to grow up with a Charlotte Mason/Dr. Schaeffer/Biblical Worldview education -- a tremendous gift! Through the years, Ben has served as a Cornerstone consultant, assistant, and co-author. He has written several Bible studies for the Answers for Difficult Days series, which equips churches to address the issues our culture is wrestling with today, from the foundation of Scripture. Ben is also the editor of The Worldview Library, editions of classical literature with student helps that afford the reader a deeper understanding of the concepts presented in each work.

Trained as a classical pianist and instructor, Ben is committed to inspiring his students with the love of great music and equipping them with the tools to perform at the highest level. This training has resulted in his students' successful performances from local festivals and competitions to Carnegie Hall.

Ben loves Shakespeare, Dickens, photography, listening to recordings of "the great pianists", running, biking, and spending time with his wife Julie and their three sons.