Friday, October 4, 2013

James 5:9-11

"Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
James 5:9-11


More good advice from the scriptures. :)  Grudge not. :)  We need T-shirts that say that.  ... and to also do it, of course. :)  It is way too easy to grudge/hold a grudge.  Someone does something that makes our lives harder, or we are embarrassed by something someone says, and it's so easy to skip past what we are really feeling and go straight to anger.  Almost always, the person wasn't trying to be mean... just kind of happened that way, but even when they were, grudge not, right? ;)  We have to learn to let things go.  It's a tough thing to learn, but on the other hand we sort of *need* other people to let us off the hook for the times that we screw up and say the wrong thing, or start a fight that we shouldn't have started.  And when we are so relieved and grateful when other people don't hold our stupidity over our heads, maybe we should do them the same favor... and treat people like friends rather than enemies.  We all need to learn how to get along, even when we disagree... otherwise we just collect enemies and only talk to people who already agree with us.  Kind of stressful and boring all mixed together.  Yuck.
The prophets are an example of making it through hard times with patience.  And I think that down deep, that is who we want to be as well.  We want to be able to keep our cool even when things seem crazy.  We want to be able to make the right decision even under tons of pressure.  We want to be people who can forgive others and show pity and love even when people are cruel or misguided.
Today, instead of holding a grudge, let's endure.  Let's work on being as patient with others as we need them to be with us sometimes.  And let's follow the example of the Lord in showing mercy to others, even when they are completely in the wrong.  Grudge not. :)

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