S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

We all have reasons to hold grudges. People wrong us. Situations hurt us. Even God does not always do what we think He should do, so we get angry. We hold offenses against those who have wronged us...

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March 18 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

"To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee." 

William H. Walton

I like how the modern translation, The Living Bible, puts it:

TLB
"Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Col 3:13

"So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not." Mark 6:19 TLB

Lev 19:18 "You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."	

Gen 50:15 "When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?'"

Psalm 103:9 MSG --"He[God] doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever."

Philippians 4:2 MSG -- "I urge Euodia and Syntyche to iron out their differences and make up. God doesn't want his children holding grudges."

1 Peter 2:1 AMP -- 'So be done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy, jealousy) and slander {and} evil speaking of every kind."

2 Corinthians 2:10 AMP --"So if you forgive him, I forgive him. Don't think I'm carrying around a list of personal grudges. The fact is that I'm joining in with [your] forgiveness, as Christ is with us, guiding us."

"One day, two monks were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own.

The first monk kindly offered, 'We will carry you across if you would like.'

'Thank you,' she said gratefully, accepting their help.

So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When they got to the other side, they set her down, and she went on her way.

After they had walked another mile or so, the second monk began to complain. 'Look at my clothes,' he said. 'They are filthy from carrying that woman across the river. And my back still hurts from lifting her. I can feel it getting stiff.' The first monk just smiled and nodded his head.

A few more miles up the road, the second monk griped again, 'My back is hurting me so badly, and it is all because we had to carry that silly woman across the river! I cannot go any farther because of the pain.'

The first monk looked down at his partner, now lying on the ground, moaning. 'Have you wondered why I am not complaining?' he asked. 'Your back hurts because you are still carrying the woman. But I set her down five miles ago.'

That is what many of us are like in dealing with our families. We are that second monk who cannot let go. We hold the pain of the past over our loved ones’ heads like a club, or we remind them every once in a while, when we want to get the upper hand, of the burden we still carry because of something they did years ago."

Dr. Anthony T. Evans, Guiding Your Family in a Misguided World

March 30 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report