LET IT GO!
CLICK FOR IMAGE SOURCE
“A rattlesnake, if cornered, will sometimes become so angry it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is—a biting of oneself. We think that we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves. ”
No matter how long you nurse a grudge, it will never get better.
—UNKOWN
Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
You are thinking perhaps, “What is this classic giving tithes and offerings verse, doing in a holding a grudge commentary?” Well, Luke 6:38 is about giving but it is not talking about tithes and offerings. In principle it is about sowing and reaping and I have learned that you do reap what you sow. However, in the context of the verse, Jesus is talking about giving judgment. Luke 6:37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. This preceding verse makes it clear that judgment, condemnation and forgiveness are the subject Jesus is addressing regarding giving.
We can feel justified in being embittered against people that have wronged us. The Hebrew writer warns about allowing a root of bitterness to spring up in us and by that, many are defiled. (Heb. 12:15) Defiling here means to be stained with impurity! In other words this poison of bitterness leaves a noticeable stain on our white robe, so to speak! Holding a grudge, brings us into the pain of others speaking harshly and judgmentally of us and it is multiplication and not simply addition! Because God did not design us to be bitter and unforgiving, part of our reaping is being poisoned by the grudges we hold against others! That poison is often at the root of physical illness! Don’t be fooled! Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a decision. Call on God and forgive your offender(s) as God so graciously does not want to hold a grudge against you! Let it go! The Lord will help you and you will be free! Stain free, pain free and poison free! HALLELUJAH!
Every blessing!
—Tom