今天我們要繼續來默想「神的榮耀比我們的利益更重要」這觀念。問題往往不是因為別人把傷害帶給我們，而是我們自己把傷害不斷的加給我們的神。且讓我盡可能把這個具體的意思解釋清楚。

很多基督徒在受到傷害的時候只是想到要如何得到神的安慰，而不會考慮到自己是怎麼樣的傷害了神。尋求神的安慰並不是錯，聖經也鼓勵我們當這樣做，但這只是整幅圖畫的其中一面。今天書店裡面最受歡迎的都是《怎樣醫治生命中的創傷》或《怎樣克服過去的痛苦》這一類的書籍。我再說一遍，這種強調是合理的，但我們絕不能無視一個事實，那就是：重要的不是別人沒有善待我們，而是我們自己一直以來對神的傷害。

讓我們來想一想這麼一個例子吧：有人傷害了我們或令我們失望了，我們就會策劃報復。但神是怎樣說的？「朋友們，不可為自己復仇，寧可讓神的忿怒……」因為聖經說：「主說：伸冤在我；我必報應」（羅十二19）。當神看見我們忽視祂的話時，你認為祂不會感到難過嗎？別人可能得罪我們，但我們有甚麼理由去得罪神呢？讓我們不要含糊其辭，因為任何違背神聖原則的事情，我們都必須給它正確的名稱，那就是罪。沒有任何罪是我們可以輕看的，特別是得罪神的罪。

We continue meditating on this matter of God's glory being more important than our own well-being. The serious problem is not the pain that others have inflicted upon us, but the pain we have inflicted (and continue to inflict) upon God. Let me spell out as clearly as I can exactly what I mean.

Many Christians are far more interested in focusing on how they can get God to comfort them when they have been hurt than considering how much they have hurt Him. Not that it is wrong to seek His comfort - Scripture encourages us to do this - but it is only one side of the picture. The most popular books in our bookshops today are titles such as these: How to be Healed of Life's Hurts or How to Overcome the Pains of the Past. I repeat that this is a legitimate emphasis, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the important issue is not how badly people have behaved toward us, but how badly we have behaved (and continue to behave) toward God.

Take this for example: someone hurts us or upsets us and we decide to become the architects of their judgment. But what does God say? "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath...'It is mine to avenge, I will repay,' says the Lord" (Rom. 12:19). Don't you think God is hurt when He sees us ignoring His Word? We may have been sinned against, but is that any justification for sinning against God? Let's not mince words here, for any violation of a divine principle must be called by its rightful name - sin. And no sin ought to be treated lightly - especially a sin against God.