We’ve all been wronged by someone at some point in our lives, and it’s only natural to feel anger. What’s not natural is keeping that anger and fostering it until it turns into hate.
Holding onto a grudge is like clutching a handful of hot coal— it will only burn you. Despising someone for minor offenses will bother you rather than the other person. It will only make you bitter and will stop you from attaining true happiness. Instead of carrying around this negative energy, try to let it go and move on. After all, isn’t it better to live in forgiveness than in anger?
Keep in mind that nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, even you. If you’re feeling angry or resentful towards someone, try to remember that every person is just as fallible as you are.
However, this is not always the case. Small transgressions may be forgivable, but how about severe ones?
When someone does us great wrongs, we may want to get even and seek revenge, yet that’s not what God calls us to do. He tells us to leave room for His wrath and let Him take care of it. That doesn’t mean we should just sit back and do nothing when someone harms us. We are still called to stand up for ourselves and others. However, we need to do it in a way that leaves room for God’s justice.
Instead of nursing your hatred, console your grudges with these verses:
Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Leviticus 19:18 NIV
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Matthew 6:14-15 NIV
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Mark 11:25 NIV
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Ephesians 4:26 NIV
“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
Proverbs 10:12 NIV
Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs.
Luke 6:31 NIV
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Luke 17:3-4 NIV
So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
James 4:1 NIV
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
Proverbs 19:11 NIV
A person’s wisdom yields patience;
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 24:29 NIV
Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”