Listen

You must not hate your fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your fellow Israelite strongly, so you don’t become responsible for his sin. You must not take revenge nor hold a grudge against any of your people; instead, you must love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:17-18

Think

Has someone done something to wrong you? Maybe they gossiped and spread a lie about you. Perhaps they did all they could to exclude you from a group of friends. Have you ever replayed that memory in your mind, like rewatching a favorite show or movie or putting your favorite song on repeat? As you rewatch, relisten, and remember, you also re-feel the hurt and the sadness of that experience. The tricky part is that we can get comfortable with the frustration, anger, and hate that often accompanies our pain. Sometimes, it can feel good to hate.

As we hold a grudge, we tell ourselves a story about how terrible and unforgivable the other person is. But that story tells us nothing about the other person. It only tells us about how hurt we are. The only thing to do is to remember what is most important. God loves us. God wants us to love ourselves. Love for ourselves is greater than our pain and will help us to let go of any hate.

Patrick Kangrga

Question to Ponder:

Who needs your forgiveness today? How would it feel to let go of that grudge and forgive them?

Pray

God, when it is easier to hate, remind me that you love me. Remind me to love myself.

Give me the ability to let go of hate so that I can hold on to love.

Amen.

Go

Just knowing you’re mindful of me

Just knowing you call me your child

It’s flooding my soul with unspeakable hope

Thank you, Lord, that it’s me on your mind

Matthew West in “Me On Your Mind” (2022)