Burning Coals

I will admit that the phrasing in Romans 12:9-21 can be somewhat jarring at first. But I think there's some value in exploring this, because it highlights the importance of reading the Bible in context. And there are three levels of context to consider: the context of the surrounding passages; the context of the book as a whole; and the context of the Bible as a whole.

Let's look at the sentence once more time:

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Here's how I'd unravel this:

• Paul is playing off what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, specifically the commandment to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44). In fact, what Jesus was doing there was making reference to Leviticus 19:18 and shining a bright light on the way in which the original commandment to love your neighbor as yourself had been tortured to the point where it yielded "hate your enemy." Jesus, ever the revolutionary, tossed the contemporary interpretation of the Law out the window and instead turned the heat up a notch.
  
• The second sentence is connected to the first -- by starting with "In doing this," Paul is making direct reference to the previous sentence: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink." So we can't (or rather, should not) view the second sentence separate from the first. So we must face the question: are the two sentences complementary, or contradictory? To do an act of kindness out of a sense of revenge or spite would clearly be to lose the blessing. And Paul alludes to this just prior to the passage in question: "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19, NIV). So what is Paul getting at here?
  
• It's my belief what Paul is saying here is that by loving one's enemy -- by feeding him when he's hungry, and giving him something to drink when he's thirsty -- the contrast between the love you display and the enmity felt in the heart of your enemy will produce a self-induced sense of shame on the part of your enemy. I think (personal opinion) the "heap burning coals on his head" is an metaphor for inducing shame.
  
• The overarching theme of the book of Romans is the inherent sinfulness of man, the helplessness of man to do anything about it, and the glorious Grace of God to reach down and forgive through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. To get a flavor of this, read from Romans 7:14 through 8:4. The key is that accepting Christ's sacrifice as payment for my sins requires that I first recognize and sense the magnitude of my own sin. So the notion of inducing shame in another through selfless love on your part is consistent with the rest of Romans. By your acts of love you help others see their own sin, and in so doing they might come to Christ as well.
• The fundamental lesson of the Bible as a whole is Jesus and his selfless act of love on behalf of us. But one must first realize that Jesus is the only way. So again, given my reading of "heaping burning coals" as a metaphor for inducing shame, then it's consistent with not only the book of Romans but the Bible as a whole.
  

As for the sentence, "Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody," I think Paul is very much telling people to avoid allowing our behavior to bely our faith in Christ. In other words, don't be two-faced. So the motivation is not to gain favor by being seen, but rather to avoid bringing dishonor to the name of Jesus by claiming to be a disciple yet behaving poorly. Paul would have had guidance to avoid suggesting we seek fame in our acts of goodness. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:1-4: "Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Humility is the key to walking the Christian faith. Jesus never instructed us to be arrogant or boastful; indeed, he told us in Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In other words, those who recognize the hopelessness of their sin and are properly humbled by it will see the glory of Christ and his offer of redemption.

Humble, yes; weak and ineffective, no. We are to be humble in the shadow of the cross, but strong in the certainty of Christ.