ODJ: dishing out grace
January 21, 2012
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable (v.17).
READ: Romans 12:9-21
Incredibly successful TV chef Rachael Ray is hardly one of the elite. “She cannot cook like I cook,” commented her rival Martha Stewart. “She cannot craft like I craft.” Yet Rachael has won viewers’ hearts—not least of all because of her charitable approach to her critics.
Author and chef Anthony Bourdain felt this charity personally. “We know she can’t cook,” he wrote critically of Ray. “So what is she selling us? She’s selling us . . . the smug assurance that mediocrity is quite enough.” How did Ray respond to these and other harsh words from Bourdain? She stated publicly that she loved his work, respected him greatly, and then booked his favourite band for her upcoming festival.
“This development has caused me no small amount of confusion,” Bourdain later admitted. “I don’t know whether to go out and shoot a puppy or send Rachael a fruit basket.” Ray responded by sending a fruit basket to Bourdain’s home, with a note asking him to refrain from shooting any puppies!
“Bless those who persecute you,” says the apostle Paul (Romans 12:14). “Never pay back evil with more evil,” he adds (v.17). In words that seem apt for bickering chefs, Paul then quotes a proverb: “If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink” (Proverbs 25:21). Why? “You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the Lord will reward you” (v.22). By returning blessing for curse, kindness exposes wrongdoing by its graphic contrast. This kindness can lead some enemies to repentance as they feel it expose their own behaviour. (Sadly, for others, the good deed done will only add to evidence against them on judgement day.)
Rachael Ray was served harshness but dished out grace in return. Let’s do the same. —Sheridan Voysey
Is there a harsh critic in your life right now? How can you show kindness instead of revenge?
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It’s no wonder Rachel Ray wins viewers’ hearts with an attitude like that! Sending her critic a fruit basket and asking him not to shoot puppies is a cute but also clear gesture of her intentions after what he had remarked.
The harshest critics in my life now… I’m still trying to work this one out, because it could be my family, or myself, or someone else altogether. But I’ve realised that it’s my own attitude that can also sometimes differ in the way i respond, as well as the delivery of the remark.
Showing kindness instead of revenge can be done in many different ways. The whole passage is full of practical starting points that everyone can consider and keep in mind, even if just simply.
Doing good to those who hurt us isn’t easy.Thats why the bible tells us to pursue peace.