Lynn Jones: The danger of resentment and anger
By Lynn Jones
When the Australian Open Tennis Tournament was played in 2002, The top-ranked tennis player in the men’s division was Lleyton Hewitt, an Australian. Unfortunately, Hewitt was not able to compete in the tournament because he had chicken pox. One commentator said that there was not much sympathy among the Australian press corps for Hewitt. In fact, he said that Hewitt was so unpopular among the press that when they heard that he had come down with the chicken pox they sent the chicken a sympathy card.
A newspaper editor feuded publicly with an elected official over a long period of time. When the official died, the editor published his obituary in the section of the paper entitled “Public Improvements.”
All of us must deal with feelings of resentment and anger towards other people. One of the problems with carrying around such feelings is the effect they have on us. In 1679, Sweden’s largest ship, the “Kronan,” sank. The ship had taken seven years to build and was outfitted with an incredible 126 cannons, weighing 240 tons. The first time that its massive arsenal was fired in battle, it was successful against an enemy ship. On its second combat outing, however, when the ship made a sharp turn it was so top-heavy with all its armaments, that it capsized. Upon capsizing, it also exploded—apparently because something ignited the powder magazine—and went straight to the bottom. Seven years of ship-building efforts and the pride of the Swedish navy was sunk by the weight of its own mighty guns!
And it is possible for you to carry around such a load of anger and resentment that you cannot possibly stay afloat. You can be sunk by the combined weight of your grudges and resentments.
A better approach to life is to follow Paul’s directive when he advised us not to let the sun go down upon our wrath. He said, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).
What we need to do is disconnect the scoreboard in life and quit keeping score. We need to avoid the tendency to repay someone in the currency that they have given us.
A government leader was once asked what he thought about a certain man. He responded, “I think he is a very fine man.” The questioner then said, “Well, he often goes around saying very uncomplimentary things about you. What is your opinion now?” The leader responded, “You didn’t ask what he thought of me. You asked what I thought of him. I think he’s a very fine gentleman.”
We all need some help with feelings of resentment. That’s what the church is here for. It is not a museum for saints. It is a hospital for sinners. Need any healing in your life?
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
