"Sweet revenge!  Sweet revenge!  Today we gonna get some sweet revenge!"

Twenty years later, those words still ring clear in my ears.  We were in the pregame warm-ups against an undermatched team that we had defeated soundly in a baseball game just a few weeks earlier.  An opposing player, for what seemed like an hour, kept announcing for all to hear, "Sweet revenge!  Sweet revenge!  You may have beaten us the other day, but today's gonna be sweet revenge!"

I've been hearing lots of "Sweet revenge" talk this week around Clemson.  Tomorrow and next Saturday the Tigers will be playing Boston College and South Carolina.  Over the last two seasons, three of Clemson's most disappointing and painful losses came at the hands of these two teams.  And when you consider that Clemson may get the chance in the ACC Championship game to face Virginia Tech - a third team that has had the Tigers' number in recent years - the idea of enacting some "Sweet revenge" starts sounding sweeter and sweeter for Tiger Nation.

I love getting revenge.  In high school, two of my best memories came when we beat the Summerville Green Wave.  The Green Wave always beat us badly in every sport, but on at least two occasions - one in their football stadium (a.k.a. "The Slaughterhouse") and one in baseball when it mattered the most - we whipped them.  In college, I'll never forget the night when we finally beat our nemesis for the first time ever, ending their season.  To this day I can still hear my younger brother calling from stands, "Pack it up!  Time to go home!"  Sweet memories indeed.

As a lifelong Clemson fan, I also have fond memories of the Tigers getting sweet revenge against their rivals.  When the eventual National Champion Notre Dame came into Death Valley under the leadership of quarterback Joe Montana in 1977 and squeaked out a 21-17 victory, I can remember feeling sick for several days.  But two years later, under the leadership of quarterback Billy Lott, the Tigers traveled up to South Bend and beat the Irish on their home turf, no easy task in those days.  My, my, revenge was surely sweet that year.

But as sweet as revenge can be on the playing field, it can be poisonous when practiced in real life.  I believe that Jesus understood this when he counseled those first disciples to turn the other cheek and to walk the extra mile.  And I believe that the Apostle Paul understood this when he exhorted the Christians in Rome - the Washington, DC of its day - to leave the role of avenging hurt, pain and loss ultimately to God.  How should we react and respond to our enemies?  Jesus said we should love them.  Paul said that we should care for their physical needs.  They both taught that God's people should seek to bless and pray for their persecutors. 

I often dream of what our world look like if we could learn to not seek "Sweet revenge" in our marriages, in our business dealings, in our churches, or in our political affairs.  Call me an idealist if you'd like, but it seems to me that such an approach would lead to less divorce, bloodshed and heartache and more reconciliation, harmony and peace around the globe.  Naive foolishness...or wisdom from above?  You have to decide for yourself.

Speaking of wisdom - or at least the wisdom of this world, the other night on CNBC I heard one of our most popular false prophets, Donald Trump, articulate the philosophy of revenge that continues to dominate our day and time.  Trump was speaking to a group of mostly younger entrepreneurs on how to be successful.  The show, entitled "The Billionaire Inside," involved Trump spending the hour fielding different questions while also outlining his "Trump Traits" for creating and sustaining "incredible" wealth.  With my oldest daughter, I watched about ten minutes of the show until I heard Trump make the following proclamation:  "Revenge is good.  When a person screws you, screw them back 15 times over!"

You should have seen the excited gleam in the eye of his disciples when they heard him say that.

There are so many lessons from sports that are also applicable to real life.  The desire for revenge, however, is not one of them, for there is no such thing as "Sweet" revenge.

May God help those of us who crave revenge choose a better path...especially in the game of life.

Go Tigers!