12:17
Paul returns to the issue of not repaying evil with evil. This is a very important matter and we need to realise how susceptible to it we are. When we suffer an injustice or evil we feel aggrieved and offended. This is natural and partly right, for we have an inbuilt God-given sense of what is right and wrong, and people should not treat us badly. However, there is a problem, or two linked problems. They are both related to the fact that we are sinners. One is the very fact that we are sinners ourselves, and in any situation it is quite possible that we too are at least partly in the wrong. The other is that because we are sinners our conscience is not perfect, our assessment of a situation is never perfect. There is also a natural tendency to be prepared to use evil to fight evil, and this can be very strong when we have been wronged. So we need to be careful, we need to think and “be sure that we do what is right in the eyes of everyone”. Everyone here includes the person who has wronged us.
12:18
We should aim to live at peace with everyone. This will not always be possible for sometimes people will act in a totally unreasonable manner. Sometimes in training classes on dealing with the people the impression is given that if only we take the right approach every problem will be solved. It may increase the chances of getting a good outcome, but it won’t work in every case because people will sometimes just act in a totally obtuse manner. However, we should make every effort to live at peace.
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