Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:14–15, NIV 1984).
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17–18, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “We are often reluctant to relinquish our anger, our resentment, or our frustration. When a relationship is strained, we can simply be too prideful to give up being right, or too unwilling to view the conflict from another’s perspective. Whenever you get derailed in a relationship with someone, you need to ask yourself, ‘what is my part in this?’ Resentment has been compared to drinking poison and hoping the other person will die. When you take a moment to look at any situation where you are resentful, you’ll realize that whatever you’re hanging on to is mainly causing misery – for you.” (Keith Ferrazzi, “Leading Without Authority”).
The truth is it does depend on us. To ask, “what is my part in this?” To not allow the bitter root of anger, resentment, and frustration to hang onto us. Or is it us that are hanging onto it? Too proud to let it go. And the longer we hang onto it, like cancer, the more insidious it becomes.
My Advice – Do you have a relationship that is broken? Are you harboring resentment as a result? Let it go. That much, at least, depends on you. Don’t miss out on “the grace of God.” You’re “mainly causing misery – for you.”
Hello resentment, my old friend, I’ve come to wallow in you again. “Fools,” said I, “You do not know, resentment like a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might teach you. Take my arms that I might reach you.” But my words like silent raindrops fell and echoed in the wells of resentment. (With apologies to Simon and Garfunkel, “The Sounds of Silence).
The Brew Is A Musing 