Holding Grudges

“So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” 

~Matthew 5:23-24

People hold grudges. We also hold on to pain caused by others. We feel as if we are owed something by those who have ridiculed and hurt us. We feel as if holding on to those painful events, we are somehow teaching the person we blame a lesson. But we aren’t doing a thing to that person, we are only allowing them to continue to hurt us. Holding on to pain causes resentment and anger that affects every part of our lives and keeps us from being what God wants us to be. When we hold on to past events that hurt us, we are holding on to the person who caused the pain, and we remain their victim.

We can cry out to God to make the pain go away but until we let go of the pain, and the person who caused it, the pain won’t go away. We must let go and forgive those who hurt us if we are to ever be what God wants us to be in Him. Forgiving people who hurt us isn’t easy, but it is possible.

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Colossians 3:12-13).” 

It can be easy to think that someone who has hurt us deserves our anger and we shouldn’t have to forgive them. But forgiving those who have hurt us isn’t for them, it’s for us. Unforgiveness causes anger, hatred, and resentment, which can lead us to turn away from God instead of to Him. When we forgive, we are saying, “I am not going to carry this burden any longer. I am giving my burdens over to God and I’m freeing up that place in my heart for the Lord to occupy instead.”

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).”

Read Philemon

©2018 Marie McGaha