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Better, Not Bitter
The little black book that some use for their“get even with” list is a poison package. The scripture tells us, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Vengeance has no place in the mature life. It is acid that eats away at the inner being. Some individuals have been unfortunate enough to form their life around one incident of hurt and swear revenge until it becomes the core of their life. It makes them mean-spirited, cynical, unhealthy, desperate, joyless, and certainly unpleasant to be around.
It's difficult to avoid bitterness when hurt. Sometimes it is caused by an individual; sometimes by a particular situation. We all know men and women who are living with the outcome of bad experiences, physical complications or irreparable emotional damage. The most successful people I know are determined to be better, not bitter, when hurt.
After speaking to a prayer breakfast in Wichita, Kansas, one of the executives asked me to go out and see a plant that employed 200 mentally handicapped people. He was Chairman of the Board and he was insistent that we make this visit. I must admit that it wasn’t number one on my list, but I'm glad he persisted. Most of the employees had Downes’Syndrome. As we went through the plant I asked him how often he came out and he said, "almost every day." I could tell he was very much loved because we would have to stop and let the people hug him. When we got to the gymnasium and met the physical education supervisor, a Downes' child came up and enthusiastically embraced him. He turned to me and said, "Fred, this is our daughter Lynn." I hugged her and realized that instead of being bitter, he had become better.
