I'll admit it...no one can hold a grudge like I can!
Afterall, I AM a woman.
Oh, I'll forgive you if you do something shady...but chances are my view of you will always be a little skewed. Unless of course you do something that can regain my trust.
Lately I've been realizing how silly all of this really is. How many times have I wronged someone in the past? How many times have I committed atrocious acts that I would NEVER want to be remembered for? People make mistakes all the time...it shouldn't always be held against them...am I right?
Furthermore, that person that you might be holding a grudge against is a person that God loves. A person that God thinks the world of. God commands us to love one another.
What does that really mean? I know it is extremely unlikely that every single person you come across will be your best friend and you'll get along perfectly well. That's just not realistic. People will get on your nerves...make you angry...annoy you. However, we must still love them. I guess that means we should treat each other with dignity and respect.
There's a chapter in "Blue Like Jazz" (by Donald Miller) that talks about this subject. Miller says that there was a guy in his life who he really could not stand. He says that he "withheld love" from this guy. Miller realized that by withholding love from this person he was actually disobeying God...and that's never good.
I realize it is hard to love people that you are not particularly fond of. I realize it is even harder to love people that have hurt you in the past. But I have come to realize that I am no better...and that I am commanded to love...and love unconditionally.
So I just want you to know that I love you. :-) Not in that mushy way...haha...just in that godly way... And if I don't love you...I'm working on it. ;-)
5 comments:
you sure you are bad with grudges, we should have a contest. I held grudges snice grade school and I still get ticked when I think about it. man kids were such bullies back then. well, I understand what you as I read your post and it made sense. I wonder how screwy your view on me is afterall all I did out of blind anger. its funny how you sometimes get so blinded that you cant tell who's your true friend outside of jesus because you think people are pitying you, dont respect you, laugh at you, or just put up with you rather have you gone. you get angry that hold grudges that you will vitcimize even your true friends as I did. you tend to lose touch on God and how to act around people and unconditional love. especially snice I believe we suppose to hold for a ideal and expectations and when we fail to meet them, then we tend to tear each other apart for that. Im sure I done that to you alot whether in your face or thinking in my mind, especially when Im messed this year. wheres the intergity in that. sorry for everything I done to you on that. seem like I took you and others for granted because what a few bad apples had done and what Im used to in terms of treatment. I love your blog, just giving you my take on it.
by the way, the anonymous aaa comment is me testing how to work this thing. okay.
Like alexa whould say: " Didn't you pay attention to pastor dave's message last week." Don't worry i've gone through that exactly phase in my life; it gets easier. I love you too!
This particular blog of yours blessed me. You may not know, but I can hold a grudge against someone too -- big time! But I have learned this - that by holding a grudge against someone, you actually let that person control your emotion. So, here you are bound and so oppressed with your emotion -- and the other person doesn't even know about it! So I realized, that by holding a grudge, I am the one missing out on God's joy and peace and not the other person!
I once read a book which said: Offenses should be like scars. Scars remind you of an event in your life, but the pain associated with that event isn't there anymore. Oh yeah, you'll always be reminded of that event, but you should only remember the good things that came off of that event -- that you became a stronger/better person because you are an overcomer in Christ Jesus!
God bless you.
i enjoyed this post 'coz i can relate to it. i also hold on to grudges but thank God the Lord's teaching me to let go of them these days.;-) thanks for sharing this.
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