As a child, some of my friends secretly poked fun at the other kids in the neighborhood walking down the street and I told them to stop. When they finally confronted all of us, they wouldn’t believe that I wasn’t doing the same thing! Right, like they were going to believe I had nothing to do with it when the evidence was very clear!
If you feel that someone has said or done something behind your back or even to your face, it still isn’t a very good practice to treat them badly or keep ignoring them. The Bible warns that it is not right to judge people:
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. Romans 2:1
I feel God is trying to say that we shouldn’t judge others because we, in turn condemn ourselves because we are not perfect. We sometimes have done the same things…in other words I would be an utter hypocrite to judge someone!
The Bible goes on to talk about grudges:
Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. (James 5:9). For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 1 Corinthians 4:4.
The only one who can judge us is the Lord. He knows the situation completely, inside and out! Much more thoroughly than what we are capable of seeing. So the next time somebody holds a grudge or accuses you of something, don’t take revenge or get upset. Try to forgive and pray for them, and pray for God to give you the strength to stay strong. Don’t let the situation keep bothering you to the point that you never let it go. Once you do forgive them, you’ll feel much better and you can get on with your life the way the good Lord intended.
