Read a great blog entry by “Stushie” about “payback” in the form of a quick devotion inspired by a life experience. The intro to his article has a good reminder for many of us who feel wronged or crossed by our neighbor:

Sometimes we are too zealous in our outrage at the world that we want to payback evil with evil. Payback belongs to the Lord; we are meant to love our enemies and forgive those who hurt us.

Amen to that. Of course, I will be one to admit it is more easily said than done. Often times I carry grudges in an effort to “avoid” getting harmed again – but that goes contrary to the whole concept of forgiveness. Forgiveness lets go. And generalizing other people in the future goes contrary to treating our neighbors with love… imagine, receiving others with hostility or suspicion just because of a bad past experience… the cynicism of it all ruins all our future relationships and closes our hearts.

Each day I have prayed through one devotion or another for freedom from the grudges I have carried over the years. I find that the more I reflect on my release from their chains, the more my burden seems lightened. It seems that reliving past wrongdoings is different when you put it in the light of prayer vs. plotting or seeking revenge and payback. There are times that I even look back on the related experiences and noticeably felt that I really didn’t care about them anymore… my feelings were at best neutral and waning on forgetfulness (thank God for that!)

On a closing thought (also from Stushie’s post):

… Help us to do whatever we can do to make this world a better place through the strength of your Love…

I like Stushie’s thoughts on the topic. What is to become of the wicked people who harm us in this world? It’s not up to us. So stop brooding and get on with living and enjoying life!

I’m sure a search for “4 minute devotions” (a similar theme to “10 minutes for God”) may yield more of his posts on various topics related to prayer, life and reflection. Enjoy!