Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Resentment

But he answered his father, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” (Luke 15:29)

The older brother in the story of the prodigal son burns with anger at his father and resentment toward his brother. He is so blinded by this, that he fails to see the blessings he had received working alongside his father day by day.

The problem with the older brother is that he is so driven by a false sense of what is fair. Our idea of justice is not necessarily God’s. God knows what is best for us and, as difficult as it can be, the best thing for us to do is to accept this, not resent it.

Evangelist Tony Campolo, reflecting on this passage, writes –

“Resentment is something that leaves you feeling right, when you are wrong.”

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