Tag: resentment

Who Hurts?

Genesis 42-44

Joseph, from the Old Testament, was a very godly man.  He endured many hardships, but held onto his faith. But along the way, he picked up some bitterness and resentment toward his brothers.  When he had the chance, he tormented them, exacting some measure of revenge.  At that time there was such severe famine that Joseph’s brothers were forced to go back to Joseph a second time and buy grain.  This time, Joseph started by being kind to his brothers, and then he veered off, continuing to emotionally torment them.

In Genesis 44, everything finally came to a head.  Joseph deceived his brothers further, and made it appear that he was going to force the youngest brother, Benjamin, to stay there with Joseph in Egypt.  This plan may have seemed like another fine way to punish his brothers, but there was a huge problem.  His brother Judah approached Joseph, and said, “If you keep the boy Benjamin here, our elderly father will die from sorrow.”  Perhaps Joseph hadn’t considered the pain he was about to cause his own father–or the pain he had already caused him.  At this point, Joseph just about had an emotional breakdown (in tomorrow’s reading in Genesis 45).  All along Joseph had been trying to hurt his brothers, but he was the one who was hurt the most.  The pain he wished for them turned out to be the pain he felt.

At some point in your life, you may have someone really hurt you.  Maybe you already have.  And maybe at some point you will have a chance to hurt them back.  Maybe even hurt them back really bad.  Consider this: it will come with a huge cost to you.  You may want to hurt them back, but it will cost you something very real and something very big.  It would be better for everyone involved if you can somehow forgive them, and not pay them back in the way they deserve.

-Jason Turner

(Originally posted Oct 26, 2018 for SeekGrowLove)

Reflection Questions

  1. When have you seen “Hurt People Hurt People” in action? When have you seen someone rise above their hurts to forgive and show compassion?
  2. What emotions do you think Joseph is feeling in today’s reading? Are there any that ought to win? Are there any that you want to see him overcome? What does it take to overcome an emotion?
  3. Who has hurt you in the past? Are you still hanging onto pieces of bitterness and resentment? Can you see any evidence in your life that this bitterness is hurting you? Who else could be feeling the effects? What would it take to let it go?
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How Do You Handle Things?

Jeremiah 9-11

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Wednesday, March 1

Chapter 9 is moping about how things are. Jeremiah 9:12 And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?

Chapter 10 is about recognition that they were wrong. Jeremiah 10:23 

Chapter 11 How do you handle being wrong? What do you do when you hurt someone?  This chapter is about their covenant being broken and the plot to hurt Jeremiah.

The question for these chapters should be how do you handle things?

For many its lying, anger, resentment and shame.  But God has been very clear in spite of how we act, He will not break His covenant.  How you handle that is the real question.

-Andy Cisneros

Which Type of Son are You? (II Samuel 14-15)

Saturday, October 21

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Nathaniel Johnson

Let’s quickly take a look and see a parallel story in the parable of the lost son. In Luke 15, starting in verse 11, Jesus starts to tell the story of a son who took his inheritance and squandered it in reckless living. This son is a lot like King David’s son, Absalom. We know from Jesus’ parable that there are two types of sons. The first is like the lost son, the son who ran away and made his father worry. The other son was the one who stayed with his father. He did everything right; he worked hard for his father and followed the rules. But when his brother came home and his dad accepted him with loving arms, he resented his brother in his heart. Sometimes we can be like the first son. We openly rebel against God and choose not to listen to him. And sometimes we can be like the second son. We try our best to follow all the rules but we still end up sinning in our hearts. The bad news is, all of us fall into one camp or the other (Romans 3:23). The good news is “God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from Him” (2 Samuel 14:14). How great is that? Maybe you feel like you’ve been running away from God for a while now. You keep trying to find your way back but you seem to stumble all the way. Relax, God is pursuing you right now. He is coming up with ways to get you back onto his path and working you into his plan. God doesn’t want to stay separated from you.