Resentment

I have been meditating on the issue of forgiveness and resentment in the life of a believer. I would like to believe that I am a forgiving person but I seriously think I battle resentment. I have recently done some postive outreach actions to people from my past who have hurt me in attempt to let the chains fall off of my mind and heart. It was good to see some of them respond.

Recently, Roma Wade, a talk show host of all things, had this to say about resentment. "Do you harbor resentment? Then you are poisoning your own meal at life's banquet table. Imagine your mind as a "little shop of horrors", a kind of museum filled with relics of all the injustices and harm you've ever endured. Each exhibit depicts your memory of what someone did or didn't do that hurt you. Brightly illuminated by your resentment, every exhibit has a sound track echoing with loud, angry, and accusing voices. The walls are covered with horrible instruments of punishment and long lists of penalities to be inflicted on your wrongdoers. And coating everything is a thick, clingling residue of self - pity that keeps you from moving along to the New Futures Wing of your museum - where the exhibits are filled with pleasure and joy - and possibilities. Can you imagine what it would be like to be locked permanently inside a changer of horror and hate and resentment? If you are unable to forgive others for real or imagined wrongs then that horror chamber exists within YOU. That chamber of Ill Will is YOUR OWN MIND."