Justice or Revenge

For some reason I am on a roll of thought these days and it is not even near Christmas.  Here I go again.

In a book, article or on TV recently was this quote: Justice is better than revenge.  I wrote it down in order to really think about it later.  Now is that later.

I feel strongly that one allows for personal growth and relief (sort of) while the other comes with possible regrets.   Before you get all in my face with “What do you know about it?” please know that my family has endured four separate robberies: three involved a firearm and each of them was shot, one of the shootings resulted in a fatality with the trial for two of the five involved in the crime and convicted, the fourth was an elderly cousin beaten to death with both of them apprehended, tried and convicted. My youngest son was a passenger in a driving accident where there were no survivors. I am more than familiar with the notion of justice and revenge. 

Justice is certainly open to interpretation and goes beyond a dictionary definition.  I believe in our justice system even when the convictions are not enough to make us feel better. How much justice would be enough to make the loss of a loved one feel any less painful or fill that void in our life?  Is there even enough justice available in our lifetime? I desperately wanted and needed to have someone to blame and held accountable.  Please do not belittle what I found to work for me and it was the only way for me. True justice allows for God to prevail. I am not talking about the here and now.  I am talking about the “pay now” or “pay later” justice.  Regardless of what a court will determine as justice for each of the offenders, I have and take great satisfaction in knowing that they will face supreme justice before God, their everlasting judge and juror, when their earthly life is over.

Revenge can bring more regrets and lead to more revenge.  Where would it really end? Violence begets violence. One can see this on various forms of media throughout the world today and in our history.   Revenge is not always physical violence but emotional or professional in nature. Each act requires another action and can spiral into a situation that was not intended.  Maybe the end result is to your satisfaction but at what cost. 

Everything comes at a cost. Is it worth the price paid? Only you can answer that question for yourself.  Just remember that you will face the same judge in the end.  Pay now? Pay later? Choose wisely and exercise great discernment.