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Temujin was born into a nomadic clan in what is now known as the Middle East. Life for him and his family was anything but easy; his father was poisoned by rivals, and his mother was left struggling to feed seven hungry children. The family’s needs were partially borne by their clan, and this taxed the group’s meager resources. The clan banished the starving family, leaving them to survive on their own.

The hunger and rejection Temujin endured turned him into an angry young man. Though he survived the brutal experience of being abandoned by his tribe, the experience forged hatred in him, making him hostile. He reportedly murdered his half-brother in a nasty argument over food. His brother’s death secured him a higher position in the family.

Later, when nomads captured the teenager and his wife, he was lashed to a pole each night and mistreated every day. He eventually escaped, but his anger prompted him to obsess about how he could get even with those who had betrayed him and his family. He became a feared warrior who united various groups to form the greatest cavalry confederation the world had ever known.

In Robert Peterson’s, “The One Year Book of Amazing Stories,” the author shared how after consolidating his power, “Temujin’s years of simmering bitterness exploded into a bloodlust that still astounds the world 800 years later… Temujin’s armies seized nearly 12 million square miles of territory… His hordes slaughtered at least 40 million people… His killing spree left three-fourths of the population of what is now Iran dead. It ranks as history’s worst genocide.”

Few in history remember him as Temujin, but by the name his Mongol chieftains gave him – Genghis Khan. How sad that the man who was hurt so badly by others went on to hurt millions who were completely innocent of the horrible things that had been done to him.

How different would Temujin’s life have been if, instead of focusing on revenge, he had committed himself to helping others who had also been mistreated? We cannot know the answer to that question because it is not what Temujin did. God, however, knows the difference we can make if we commit ourselves to showing compassion rather than seeking revenge.

Scripture issues the challenge this way, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32, NLT)

Though our challenges are very different from those Genghis Khan faced, each of us must confront the challenge of turning the pain inflicted on us by others into compassion for those who have also been hurt, instead of angrily lashing out at innocent people who will be wounded by our own need for revenge.