Do not repay evil for evil

When someone hurts you, responding in kind comes almost automatically. A harsher phrase, a mockery, a punishing silence, or a small act of revenge seems to restore balance. Yet evil is never cured by duplicating it. Sometimes the brave move is to pause, breathe, set a fair boundary, and refuse to let the other person decide who you become. Jesus does not call us to be naive. He calls us to overcome evil with a good that does not surrender to hatred.