MAX ON LIFE

38. My boss promised me a promotion every time he needed me to work overtime. I worked sixty-hour weeks for years but when a big promotion came up - you guessed it - he passed over me for a new person at the company. I have to keep working with this boss, but my resentment makes it very difficult for me even to be civil with him.

The boss who promised promotions has forgotten you. And you are hurt.

Part of you is broken, and the other part is bitter. Part of you wants to cry, and part of you wants to fight. The tears you cry are hot because they come from your heart, where there is a fire burning. It's the fire of anger. It's blazing. It's consuming. Its flames leap up under the streaming pot of revenge.

And you are left with a decision. "Do I put out the fire or heat it up? Do I get over it or get even? Do I release it or resent it? Do I let my hurts heal, or do I let hurt turn into hate?

That's a good definition of resentment: resentment is when you let you let your hurt become hate. Resentment is when you allow what is eating you to eat you up. Resentment is when you poke, stoke, feed, and fan the fire, stirring the flames and reliving he pain.

Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist. Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter.

And mercy is the choice that can set them all free.

"Blessed are the merciful," said Jesus on the mountain. Those who are merciful to others are the ones who are truly blessed. Why? Jesus answered the question: "they will be shown mercy" (Matt 5:7).

The merciful, says Jesus, are shown mercy. They witness grace. They are blessed because they are testimonies to a greater goodness. Forgiving others allows us to see how God has forgiven us. The dynamic of giving grace is the key to understanding grace, for it is when we forgive others that we begin to feel what God feels.

Because God has forgiven you more than you'll ever be called on to forgive in another, set your enemy - and yourself - free.

By: Max Lucado