Don’t you just hate it when the mirror and the spotlight you were shining on “those people” comes shining back on you? 

Several factors are true in life (besides death and taxes):

Failure to forgive is bad…really bad to your spiritual health, and sometimes most all times to your physical health as well.

Every person will have a struggle with bitterness somewhere, sometime, somehow.

Invariably, the one who is doing the “preaching” and warning will have an issue in his own life someday.

COUNT.   ME.   IN.   ON.   THAT.   TEAM.

Yep, me “Mr. Preach about the stranglehold anger and bitterness can get and how dangerous it is” had the mirror turned on himself.

TODAY (Wednesday)

Confession time: some stuff has been eating at me.  I am not one to dwell on stuff, or to let it get to me, but for some reason this has taken hold.   It is sort of like The Ring that Frodo carried back to Mordor in order to destroy it.  It captured Gollum.  It had a hold on Bilbo (though not like Gollum).  And it weaved its magic on Frodo.  That last scene in the bowels of Mordor where he refused to drop the ring into the fire chills me to the bone.   I could feel myself being dragged down as I allowed things to weave their way into my head, and ultimately into my heart.   Then I read this:

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!  Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.  Psalm 37:8

That wasn’t all though.  I also read this verse:

As I mused, the fire burned. Psalm39:3

Put them together and what do you have?  A recipe for disaster…one that I was falling into.   It isn’t that I didn’t feel I wasn’t justified in feeling the way I did.  Just ask me.  🙂  I could tell you details (in detail).   But God wasn’t done yet.  I am not only reading the Psalms on a daily basis, but I am also reading a chapter out of Matthew every day.  Today is February 15th.  Here is what I read:

This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men…Hear and understand: ‘It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth…But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.’  Mt.15:8-9,10-11,18

It wasn’t just a mirror that was turned on me.  This huge brighter-than-bright spotlight was shone on me as well.  I was exposed.  I can say I took care of it right then and there (I did).  I would also like to say it is over (jury is still out).  But, at least, I now know there is a problem I cannot hide from any longer.

What about you?  Have you do you struggle with anger and bitterness?  Have you dealt with it?  If so, how?  If not, maybe it is time.  Least we can do this together. What are your thoughts?