How to Treat Your Neighbors

Proverbs 24:28-29 warns against lying and feuding with people. It says, “Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, ‘Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.’” This advice is summarized in Romans 12:17-19, which instructs Christians with the same wisdom regarding their relationships with others. It says:

¹⁷ Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. ¹⁹ Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

On the Day of Judgment, God will pour out His wrath on those whose deeds call for it (2 Thess. 1:6-10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:14). Until that day, however, Christians are charged with the responsibility of living as peacefully as possible alongside the wicked people of this world while continuing to spread the gospel of Jesus (John 17:14-17; 1 Tim. 2:1-4).

The language found in Proverbs 24:28-29 is clear: leave vengeance to God. Do not begin feuding with your neighbors, and do not become involved in conflicts that do not already involve you. Instead, maintain your focus where Christians ought: on helping the lost to find fellowship with God through Jesus. There are many petty fights people have in this life. Christians avoid them all and focus on the battle that matters most: the one for the soul.