“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:15
This is a fundamental mindshift that every follower of Jesus MUST make. When someone does us wrong, we cannot, must not respond by doing wrong ourselves. The world coaches us to “get back” at those who’ve hurt us but that isn’t the way of Jesus. This verse doesn’t mean that we don’t involve authorities when appropriate, because that isn’t evil, it’s using the structures God ordained for the good of all people. This doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be appropriate consequences within the church or society or the evil someone has done. Appropriate consequences aren’t evil.
What Paul means is that we can’t seek revenge because vengeance belongs to God. He is our avenger and He will make sure true justice is done forever. As Christ-followers we can’t respond in ways that fail to glorify God. We can’t respond in ways that seek to hurt the other person like they’ve hurt us. We can’t respond with gossip, slander, or violence. That isn’t how Christ responds to our betrayals and failures of Him and we must become like Him. When we wrong Jesus, as we often do, He responds with redemptive love and conviction because those are what’s best for us.
Always seek to do good for one another. Even those one another’s who have mistreated you, said false things about you, opposed you, and hurt you. Understand what it means to do good in Christ, then do it, even when it isn’t appreciated or reciprocated. When you do, you honor Christ as your Lord and that’s what’s most important.