A little
bit ago, I was venting to my mother about a friend who was getting on my last
nerves. This friend had, in my eyes, really offended me, and I couldn’t get
over it. I kept telling my mom about it and even told my dad my “woes,” but
then, my friend needed me. At first, I didn’t really want to help, but the Holy
Spirit beckoned me to be there for her, to love her.
So, that’s
what I did. I went and spent time with her and loved her, and guess what? I
found myself not rehashing the things my friend had done wrong anymore. I saw
what had happened in prospective and realized how wrong I had even been. Also,
when I was loving her, I didn’t have time to hate on all the bad stuff.
That night
after realizing that I needed to just love my friend like Christ does, I opened
my Bible to Proverbs 10:12 that says, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love
covers all wrongs” (NIV). In that moment, the scripture became alive to me
again because I had experienced that verse earlier in the day with my friend.
In the past when I had been angry with her, all my venting did was stir up more
anger and fuel my selfish fire, but when I stopped and loved her, those wrongs
disappeared and love covered all.
God teaches
us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we can’t do that while hating him or
holding a grudge or gossiping about them behind his back. We may think we are justified
in “venting” and being angry, that maybe our anger is okay and justified, but
in reality, all that stuff does is make you miserable and eat at your soul. Forgiveness
and love is powerful; they set you free.
When I let
go of all the petty things that had been bothering me, it felt like a weight
had been lifted off my shoulders. Don’t let anger hold you down and cause more
trouble for your life. Hatred (or even "dislike") leads to more hatred and then, bitterness, but
love erases hard feelings and sets you free.
Love covers
all wrongs. Who do you need to start loving today?
Living Life Together,
Rebecca Thomas
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