Vengeance

Vengeance is a bad idea. Throughout Judges chapter 16, Samson and the Philistines seek vengeance against each other in increasingly destructive ways, each making the excuse that they're only doing to the others what each other had done to them. This is a horrific perversion of the Golden Rule. They were doing onto each other what the had done unto each other, when instead they should have doneunto each other what they would have had each other do unto them. They were each thinking of the past (admittedly, the recent past), when they should have been thinking about the future. Vengeance begets further vengeance. If either side had forgiven each other instead, the cycle of vengeance would have stopped, and thousands of lives would have been spared. Granted, it's hard to forgive those who have wronged us, and both Samson and the Philistines felt badly wronged by each other. It's only natural that they all wanted revenge. But that desire for vengeance only led to greater violence, more destruction, and further loss. Either side could have cut their losses by deciding to forgive the other instead of continuing the cycle of seeking revenge.

It's tragic that neither Samson nor the Philistines could let go of their desire for revenge, and the both suffered for it. I hope that we will be wiser than they were and that we will be strong enough to forgive rather than seeking revenge.