Revenge is never the best path

​I went to see the movie The Batman yesterday with my boys. I had a buddy comment that he hadn't seen the movie but heard there was a lot of political propaganda in it. I suppose there was some, but like I told him, not nearly as much as I'll see scrolling any other media format today.

I've thought about what he said a little more, and in my opinion, I think there's probably more Jesus propaganda in the movie than political propaganda.

At the beginning of the movie, Batman felt like he was the picture of vengeance, and that this was a good and necessary thing. If he was ever going to rid Gotham of crime, vengeance was going to be his greatest asset.

By the end of the movie, though, Batman realized vengeance wasn't making anything better. In fact - it was likely contributing to the darkness of the world - not the least of which was his own world.

I'm reminded of a story in the book of Mark. Peter is wrestling with this idea of embracing forgiveness over the desire to seek revenge. Peter comes to Jesus and asks him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times seven?”

I can just hear Peter asking Jesus this question. I can hear him asking it because I can hear ME asking it. And, as a human, I can feel myself fully expecting Jesus to say, don't be ridiculous, Keith - there is a limit to how much one human can be expected to forgive.

But that was NOT the answer Jesus gave. He did not tell him, don't be silly, no one can be expected to forgive someone seven times!! Jesus actually told Peter, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times."

For the non-math majors or folks who don't have a calculator handy - that is 490 times.....

Jesus point here to Peter - quit being someone who seeks a pathway to revenge and start embracing the character of a man who instinctively responds - no matter how high the number gets - with forgiveness.

You know, the love letter Jesus writes to each of us starts with "you are forgiven." Jesus knows our mistakes eat at us. We beat ourselves up for them. We beat each other up for them. Jesus wants us to know his love for us ALWAYS starts with "you are forgiven."

Why?

I think because he wants our love letters to each other to start with you are forgiven.

In the movie, you can see the emotional toll vengeance takes on Batman. Part of that toll was when you are caught up in relationships built on vengeance, you have very little energy left to have relationships built on love.

Jesus was telling Peter, save your energy for love.

Jesus is telling us, when we come to him, we are only going to find love.

And Jesus is also telling us, maybe MOSTLY telling us, when it comes to our interactions with one another, vengeance doesn't work for any of us. There is no number where the right choice is suddenly abandoning forgiveness for revenge.

We have to become more.

I think the moral of The Batman is real heroes don't seek revenge, they run from it.

Jesus didn't come to the world to seek revenge. When dying on the cross and given the chance to seek revenge, he ran from that chance.

Maybe today we too should start running from revenge. Not seven time seven times. But all the time.