¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

(Romans 12:19 NIV)

According to this study, a person inclined to deal with inequity on a tit-for-tat basis tends to experience more unemployment than other people…

By Teresa Neumann

This article reminds me of something a wise pastor once taught our congregation; that the Old Testament adage, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” was meant to prevent mankind from doing what comes naturally to us when we’re wronged. That is, to “one-up” the person who’s wronged us, rather than to—at the very least—be equitable. Of course, the New Covenant took this issue to another level when Jesus spoke of “turning the other cheek,” and leaving judgment to Him. Thank you Jesus for that! Without His mercy, and the mercy extended to me by others, my life today would be a study in deserved retribution.

Vindictiveness doesn’t pay. This has been demonstrated by a study at Bonn and Maastricht Universities. According to this study, a person inclined to deal with inequity on a tit-for-tat basis tends to experience more unemployment than other people. Vindictive people also have less friends and are less satisfied with their lives. The study appeared in the Economic Journal.

We tend to live by the motto “tit for tat”. We repay an invitation to dinner with a counter-invitation; when a friend helps us to move [from a] house, we help to move his furniture a few months later. On the other hand, we repay meanness in the same coin. Scientists speak here of reciprocity. A person who repays friendly actions in a like manner is said to behave with positive reciprocity, and one who avenges unfairness acts with negative reciprocity.

Positive and negative reciprocity are interdependent traits: many people incline to positive reciprocity, others more to negative; others, again, incline to both. The researchers from Bonn and Maastricht wanted to discover what influence these traits of character have on parameters such as “success” or “satisfaction with life.”

“Both positive and negative reciprocity are widespread in Germany“, declares Professor Dr. Armin Falk of Bonn University, summarizing the results.

Vindictiveness is not a maxim to be recommended. Anyone who prefers to act according to the Old Testament motto of “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” has on average less friends—and is clearly less than satisfied with his or her life.

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Used by permission http://www.breakingchristiannews.com / source EurekAlert
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uob-vdp032609.php