The apostle Peter instructed Christians "not to return evil for evil or slander for slander" (1 Peter 3:9). That was Jesus' attitude. He was able to do that because He "committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" (2:23). The word translated as "committed" means "to hand over for someone to keep." Every time Jesus went through a suffering circumstance, He handed Himself and the circumstance over to God. That's because He was confident in the judgment of God and that the glory would therefore be God's. It was because of that confidence that Jesus was able to accept suffering calmly.
That is the way you and I should respond when we are being persecuted at work, in our families, or in other relationships. When we try to retaliate, we are forfeiting the blessing and the reward that the suffering is meant to bring. Retaliation shows that we don't have the confidence we ought to have in God's ability to make things right in His own time. And, by the way, that also includes punishing the unjust and rewarding those who are faithful in suffering. So give it over to God and let HIM handle it. Let God be God.
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