Matthew 5:23-24
One afternoon, I went to get shrimp from the freezer to prepare for dinner that night. No shrimp. Thinking perhaps I’d not bought the shrimp after all; I fixed something else for our meal.
Days later, I was horrified to find the bag of thawed; now bubbling with bacteria—shrimp beside the washer in the laundry room! EWWW! Now, I know what happened to the shrimp.
The day I’d bought the seafood, I’d taken advantage of a great sale on fluffy bath towels. Once home, I put the sack of towels beside the laundry basket to wash before use. It never crossed my mind that the sales clerk would put a bag of frozen shrimp in with a pile of bath towels.
I wonder how long it would have been before the ‘gases’ from the shrimp built up in that sealed bag and it exploded. Can you IMAGINE what that would be like? BANG! Smelly rotting shrimp spewing everywhere; nasty!
Sometimes, we stuff hurtful things that people have said or done to us down inside our heart, out of sight. Instead of taking our pain to Jesus for resolution, we hide it. We make a point to not think about the pain and anger or the broken relationship; keeping ourselves busy so we don’t remember.
Scripture shows that our relationships with each other do affect our relationship with God; whether the rift exists because of our own apathy or the carelessness of somebody else. Mark 12:28-31 says the two most important life laws are, love God and love each other. The Bible also reveals that anger with your spouse can hinder your prayers. (I Peter 3:7)
If left unattended to, stuffed in the bottom of our heart, unresolved anger will eventually explode; spewing ugly bitter words and hurt feelings everywhere. Stuffing anger and hurt feelings inside our heart and ignoring them never ends well.
The only cure for wounded relationships is to turn them over to the Holy Spirit for handling. The Spirit knows God’s perfect will and can direct our heart on how to heal and rebuild broken relationships.
Satan loves it when we have bitterness and anger hiding in the bottom of our heart. Deal with the hurt feelings now, before they explode and make a big mess; take them to Jesus.
Matthew 5:23-24 If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Prayer: Father God, help me to realize that anytime I have a “people” problem, I compromise my relationship with you. Show me how to keep my friendships clear of conflict and help me to forgive others when they have done me wrong. Remind me that there is no issue too big OR too small to lay at the foot of the cross. Amen.
Scripture References
Mark 12:28-31 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
I Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.