we are
looking here at letting go of our past. so how do you do it?
well
one thing i must do is to give up my
grudges.
ephesians
4.31 (niv), get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of
malice. be kind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each other, just as in CHRIST, GOD forgave you.
notice
it says, get rid. get rid
of all bitterness. chuck it! throw it away! eliminate it!
don’t hold on to resentment. if
you do, it will ruin your relationships.
there are few things in life that cause more damage to relationships
than resentment.
now, we
depend on other people to meet our needs – physical needs, financial needs,
social needs, spiritual needs. and when
our needs are not met, we get angry at people.
“you’re not meeting my needs!”
and we get resentful.
but the
problem is it doesn’t work. it’s uncomfortable. when you’re resentful, it doesn’t upset the
other person, it upsets you. they may be
out having a great time, and you’re at home stewing and spewing saying, “i
can't stand that person!” you’re the one
it’s hurting. resentment never hurts the
other person; it hurts you.
on top
of that, it’s worthless. you can be resentful toward people who have
hurt you in your past but it will never change the past. no matter how much you resent it, it will
never change the past. it’s
worthless. it never resolves the
problem, it only makes it worse.
it’s controlling. when you say to somebody, “you make me so
mad!” you are admitting your weakness.
“you make me...” that means “you” can control my emotions. you have the power to control me. nobody can make you mad without your
permission. you are allowing them to
make you mad.
some of
you have been hurt in the past – all of us have been hurt in the past – but
some of you are continuing to allow people from your past to hurt you in the
present even though they’re not around anymore and that’s dumb! let it go!
paul says, get rid of it! get rid
of bitterness.
just a
thought from the front porch…
No comments:
Post a Comment