“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.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV
Over the course of any given week, we may be faced with numerous opportunities where small minor events can be turned into a grudge. Someone at work says something callous or rude. We go our way yet, we dwell on that situation and begin to take offense for what was said. First we make a choice to be offended. Then we go from being offended to now having ill feelings for that person. A grudge has been born.
There seem to be so many ways we can be offended some days. We get the choice of what we do with rudeness, callousness, bad manners or bad driving. We escalate these situations by choice. Maybe just maybe, we should choose to put most of these situations in the proper light where they belong, a minor issue not worthy of much attention or concern. I wonder how many times we have done something to someone that they would count offensive?
I would offer that since we get to choose how we react, we give grace instead of taking offense. We are called to rid ourselves of malice and unforgiveness . We are to be compassionate to one another as Christ showed you forgiveness. The more we imitate Christ the more joyful and meaningful our lives will be!
Anyway, that thing that fired you up, in hind site is really not that big of a deal. Give grace where offense and anger may exist and create an opportunity for joy rather than carrying a grudge.
In Christ
RJ