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Harboring Grudges

By Bob West

One of the most immature and petty of human practices is that of harboring a grudge against our fellowman. The nature of the offense is even more aggravated when we observe the practice among brethren in Christ.

What is a grudge? It is merely the leftovers of an unforgiving heart. It is a clear manifestation of a lack of love. While most of our Bible translations don't contain the word, the following passages deal with the subject:

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" - Ephesians 4:32.

"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" - Colossians 3:13.

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also" - 1 John 4:20-21

If these and a host of other similar passages were observed, the harboring of grudges and its antecedent evils would not exist.

All sins have a deteriorating effect upon those who commit them. But none seems to effect such a rapid corruption of character and personality as that of harboring grudges. Unfortunately, the guilty party is usually the last one to realize that any change has taken place.

So, brother or sister, turn loose of that grudge you have carried all these years. Repent of your lack of love. Forgive and be free from that horrible weight of both the grudge and the guilt of sin. --, The Milpitas Messenger, June, 1996