I Appeal to You
... through Bertha Dudde  - 27.12.1940 

1753   ‘Vengeance is Mine ....’

Exacting revenge is not right before God, for then the human being will share the guilt because he gave way to an evil desire in him and is no longer pure at heart. Every feeling of unkindness is an obstacle towards ascent, the inner battle, however, is an advancement. As soon as the human being is antagonistically inclined towards the fellow human being and ponders retaliation he hands himself over to the power of evil and has to comply with its will, which always intends to increase unkindness. And this puts his state of soul at risk, for once he has given in to the enemy’s desire it will be difficult for him to practise love, for the thought of revenge poisons his feelings. What his fellow human being has done to him is far less than what he is now doing to himself, for his fellow human being’s wrong-doing consisted of causing him physical damage but he is damaging his soul and puts it into new fetters with every act of unkindness. He has no other benefit by doing so other than to satisfy his feeling of revenge and thereby hands himself over to the opponent’s control, and to then return to activities of love is extremely difficult and can only be possible if he realises and regrets his wrong-doing. The vindictive person, however, is pleased with his action and far removed from a state of remorse. The human being shall repay evil with good, this way he will weaken the power of evil, acquire love and release himself as well as his opponent from the influence of evil, for his opponent will experience this as a beneficial act, providing he is not entirely obstinate, and will regret his action. Vengeance, however, is God’s responsibility. And God is righteous, He truly administers vengeance according to merit .... He beholds the human being’s heart and nothing remains hidden to Him. And it is His will to reform people and to make them realise their wrong-doing, just as He blesses those who patiently endure the other person’s wrong-doing without rebelling against it or thinking of exacting revenge. ‘Vengeance is Mine’, says the Lord .... He thereby makes His will known to leave the responsibility of vengeance to Him, so as not to cause damage to your soul, which will be much greater than your fellow human being can ever inflict on you ....

Amen