“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.“Â ~Various
As I mentioned a couple of blogs ago, anger is a toxic condition born out of fear (where the devil resides) and ego (easing God out). One of the many by-products of anger is resentment. Resentment is simply hidden anger.
Somehow the committee in our head (where the devil is the chairman) convinces us we need to stay angry with someone well after an incident takes place. As a person in recovery I had to work hard to become resentment free as we all know resentments often cause us to go back to our addiction.
On page 64 of the The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (where the 12 Steps originated) it says; “Resentment is the ‘number one’ offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick.” It is interesting this quote is found at the beginning of Step 4 in the Big Book, “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
The best way to deal with resentment is pretty much identical with how we need to deal with anger…name it, claim it, dump it…and don’t take it back. The best way to not take it back is to pray for the person we are harboring resentment toward. Pray for that person to have peace, happiness and joy in his or her life. This is not easy as our ego and pride (hmm-places the devil resides) often get in our way.
Getting resentment free is one thing but staying resentment free is another.
Pray to be resentment free, picture what it would look like, plan how you will do it and practice it one day at a time.
P.E.A.C.E
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
Mark 11:25, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
P.S. …reading the scripture above kind of makes me think when we hold a resentment against someone and do not forgive them, they are actually standing closer to God than we are…just a thought 🙂
Dear Jay,
Your words are screaming at me at such the perfect time. Or, in my mind, the roughest time. Perfectly rough. Roughly perfect. 🙂
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
Jennifer