If you have an axe to grind with
someone be sure not to nurse it....we all experience from time
to time hurts inflicted by others, and it's important to know
how to deal with them.
Matthew 18:15 If your brother
sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the
two of you...
How
many of us struggle with this command? yet this is the route
the Lord would place before us...it is the way of getting things
in the open, which often resolves disputes and hurts before they
they get out of hand.
Often when a person is
hurt rather than tell the person causing it, it can become easier
to nurse this "Baby" and tell friends about it....an
axe to grind getting bigger and bigger, this is the stuff grudges
are made of. Many of us have had to listen to friends complain
about someone who has hurt them - When you ask "Have you
told them" invariably the answer is "No"
But also how many of us have been the complainers
ourselvers?
How many of us can say we have
never done this? your mind is perhaps doing a mental inventory
of the past, checking through classified files - painful, and
yet if we want to get things right - it is well to look at the
words of Jesus again in Matthew 18:15 also Proverbs 19:11
gives us insight into dealing with hurts - A mans wisdom
gives him patience; it is his glory to overlook an offence.
May we all take to heart and obey
what the scriptures teach us
Peter
Iparana Studio
October 13th 2002