My friend, may I ask you a question? When we carry a grudge and entertain a bitter spirit, is it like being stung repeatedly by the same bee? When we choose to stand in the way of love, determined to fight it out for what might seem right or fair, do we stand a pretty good chance of coming out on the short end of the stick?
My friend, life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day. I’m M. Clifford Brunner.
Have you ever drawn straws? You know; there’s some sort of unpleasant task that falls to a group to do and no one wants to do it? Everyone agrees to pick a straw from someone’s clenched fist. All the straws are the same length but one and that “short straw” is the one straw that assigns the unpleasant task. The “short end” has become a label for someone who loses; who continually ends up with the unpleasant tasks in this life. Now there are some who occasionally fall into this group. There are others, because of their stubborn nature, never get out of it. They continually stand fast in the midst of trouble, unwilling or unable to pull themselves out of the trouble.
For those who plant themselves firmly in the presence of a grudge, these are the “short enders”–always mired in bitter- ness and pain.
Here’s a story: One day two brothers, one stubborn and the other not, were plowing their father’s field. The stubborn brother labored on the north end and the other at the south end. As they labored, the brother on the south end of the field plowed straight into a nest of wasps that swarmed around him in a matter of seconds. He began swatting with his hat, but that did no good. After being stung painfully by a single wasp on his arm, he obliged the wasps and ran for cover as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, the stubborn brother had stopped his plowing as he saw his more obliging brother run. He watched as the swarm chased him into a nearby pond. Suddenly, one stray wasp made a beeline for the north end of the field, running headlong into the stubborn brother. He too whipped out his hat and swatted the wasp away. But each time his arm swung out, the wasp dove into his immovable foe and stung him three times on the arm. Moral of the story: Obliging the threat is often less painful than standing ones ground.
When we carry a grudge and entertain a bitter spirit, it’s like being stung repeatedly by the same bee. When we choose to stand in the way of love, determined to fight it out for what might seem right or fair, we stand a pretty good chance of coming out on the short end of the stick. When you come right down to it, is the short end really worth it?
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34)
We pray. Heavenly Father, O Lord, when we carry a grudge and entertain a bitter spirit, it’s like being stung repeatedly by the same bee. It’s a situation we often find ourselves in when we are angry or hurt. When we choose to stand in the way of love, help us O Lord to remember that carrying a grudge never makes any sense, because in the end, we are the ones who get hurt. Forgive us Father. Help us to forgive others and keep these situations of hurt under control. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.