Romans 12:17 : Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. Returning evil for evil settles nothing, but usually makes bad matters worse. Besides, to return evil for evil puts one in the class of evil doers. Spite work is of the devil. Even men of the world look upon retaliation as beneath the dignity of a gentleman, and there-fore not honorable. "There is a common standard of honor which Christians must by no means ignore." When a Christian so far forgets himself as to violate the world's standard of honor, he loses his influence for good. And this does not mean that we must be men-pleasers. The Greek word for "take thought" means to pre-think--to think before you adopt a certain course of action. The Christian lowers himself in the estimation of men when he engages in things that the world thinks beneath the Christian profession; he also disobeys Paul's injunction.