Silence is not Golden/ topic: relationships

READING: Lev. 18,19; Ps. 13; Acts 19

SCRIPTURE: Lev. 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love
your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord your God.

OBSERVATION: In Lev. 19, God has a whole list of "do's and don'ts" for us to follow to make our lives better and to enhance our relationships to Him and to others. The second half of the verse is quoted by Jesus in the New Testament as the second greatest commandment after "Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength". The first half gives us a practical way to fulfill this command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. It ends with the Lord reminding us that this is important because He, the LORD, says it is! He is not to be argued with.

APPLICATION: This verse struck me because of dealing with a recent situation in my own family where the advice in this verse was not followed. When we bear grudges against one another in the name of family peace ("I didn't want to make a scene" or "It wasn't a big deal" or "I let it go because I know it's just the way you are"), we end up storing garbage in our souls that usually winds up coming out in some sort of completely unreasonable reaction when that person does something to irritate us later on. And no matter how extreme our reaction is, we feel justified in it because we have a backlog of "wrongs" this person has committed, and they are left wondering what just happened. We often lie to ourselves that we have let go of the perceived "slights" someone else gave to us. I say "perceived", because often, if we would discuss it with whomever offended us, we would discover we misunderstood them, and need not to have been offended. Even if they were being a jerk, we should deal with it then and not "bank" it. If we don't follow the command in this scripture, we rob the "offender" of learning a valuable lesson on how they are being perceived by us that would help them grow as a person (if they are open to it) and we damage ourselves by holding on to seeds that cause a root of bitterness or anger to grow in us. When it comes to solving problems with others, silence is definitely not golden, nor is it noble!

PRAYER: Father, help me to see clearly and not to deceive myself when I am offended by what others do to me. May I always keep short accounts with people and forgive them from my heart. Help me to do right by having the courage to speak the truth in love when I have been offended. Help me also, when someone has obviously held a grudge against me, to respond in a way that I become a peacemaker. In Jesus' Name, Amen.