"I'll Pay You for This!"

Have you ever watched two youngsters playing in a sandbox? One of them will accidentally—or not so accidentally—throw sand on the other one. And pretty soon there is a sand fight going on. When they get a little older they'll probably swap punches, kicks, or insults until someone is hurt.

Then at a certain point in their development they'll merely use words. "I'll pay you for this!" will be the threat. This is, of course, not a promise to give someone something in exchange for a gift or a purchase. It means, I'll get back at you some day!

While we nurse a grudge or a hurt and wait our chance to "pay him back" we may either forget how the argument started or else let it grow all out of control. "Getting even" is like a worm that eats at the root of a plant, causing it to wither and die. It occupies our thoughts and governs our actions.

Forget it! If you hold a grudge you hurt only yourself. The thing will grow on us and not on the fellow we hold the grudge against. When getting even becomes a kind of duty it keeps us from doing the things we ought to be doing. It makes us think of meanness instead of good. Oftentimes it will lead us to do something very foolish—something we can be sorry for the rest of our lives.

"Beloved," wrote Paul to the Romans (12:19 RSV), "never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God."

Are you angry at someone? Forget it and fill your mind with nice thoughts. Repeat the Twenty-third Psalm. Pray the Lord's Prayer. Erase hate from your mind.

Dear God, I get very angry at times. Fill my mind with nice things that they may crowd out dark thoughts.