Poisoning Me... To Hurt You?

"I can't believe you did that to me 10 years ago!"
"I hate that person... she was such a witch when we were kids!"

I could probably come up with 100 more comments such as the above of things I've either said or heard. Someone hurts us deeply, and we just don't want to let go of that resentment.

God doesn't want us resenting others. We're told repeatedly to forgive. We're told to pray for those who've hurt us. We're told to let go of bitterness and resentment.

Holding onto that resentment keeps us from being able to truly love one another as God wants us to love. It keeps us from being able to truly love God. It harms more marriages than probably anything else. It harms more friendships and other relationships.

And it harms us. The quote above is very true - "Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die." Resentment hurts us individually - not the person who hurt us.

Today's Lenten sacrifice:

Let go of resentment.

Find a way to forgive. Forgiving another person doesn't mean you're condoning what they did. It doesn't even need to mean you're reconciled with that person. It means that you aren't going to let the pain they caused live in your heart anymore. It means you are going to make more room in your heart for love by getting rid of the negative feelings. It's freeing.