It was a typical weekday morning. Breakfast was finished, clothes were on, and both of my boys were headed to the bathroom to brush teeth and hair. Just as Daniel put his toothbrush in his mouth, Carter snuck around the corner and flipped the light off. Daniel screamed. Carter laughed. After the scream finally subsided, out of sheer reflex, Daniel walloped his brother on the arm.

As soon as I hard the scream followed by the, “You little…” I knew things were about to escalate.

“Carter! Get in here now!” I yelled from my bedroom.

Carter stomped into the room. Now, mind you, my husband is in the bathroom  behind a curtain we are using for a temporary door, listening to every word.

“What did you do to your brother?” I asked Carter.

“I just came into the bathroom and turned off the light to scare him. And then he hit me for no reason.”

“I’m pretty sure he had a reason. You scared him on purpose, and he hit you out of reflex. And if I know you the way I think I do, you were about to retaliate.”

Carter’s face caught a slight smirk.

“Carter, the Bible says that vengeance belongs to the Lord, not you. Revenge only makes things worse and if you haul off and hit your brother back, you are taking things into your own hands. And you kinda did start the whole thing in the first place, right?”

Carter nodded and kept listening.

“Leave your brother alone. Don’t go back down the hall and hit him like you want to. You drop the whole deal and leave the revenging business up to the Lord, got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” Carter replied as he walked out of my bedroom.

My husband, who was listening to the whole exchange, pulled the curtain back laughing. “You sounded so much like Steve Bass [my daddy] just now it’s not even funny. ‘Vengeance belongs to Lord!’” he said in a mocking manner with his hands up in the air like an old preacher. “Who even says stuff like that to their kids? And with a straight face, no less?”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” I replied with a smile.

Even though this was a somewhat silly time to give a speech to one of my kids about revenge, the reminder rests fresh on my heart. Vengeance does belong to the Lord, no matter how badly we desire to take revenge into our own hands. People often hurt us deeply, but no matter how deep the wound, it is never our place to seek revenge or retaliation. Even if we never see it in this lifetime, vengeance will be handed out in due time, in due measure by the Lord.

Romans 12:19-20 (CSB) says, “Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written; Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.”

Before we allow our anger to rise to the top and blind us this week, let’s take a moment and remember it’s not our place to retaliate. Instead, kindness might be the perfect antidote to soften our hearts and work toward forgiveness.

Vengeance belongs to Lord—not the brother. Remember that this week.