Rejecting Resentment

Ok, tonight I really have to work on praying to be able to reject resentments. Someone did something, and then said something, that bothered me a great deal. I felt taken advantage of. I ended up doing much more work than I needed to for this person. In the end, he tossed the whole issue off as though my labor, my time, my errands, and my feelings were not of any matter. It’s obvious to me that they do not matter to him. However, from the way I felt, and the sharp tone of my voice after the incident, apparently it matters a great deal to me.

So, why did I let him get to me? Sure, I was taken advantage of. But I have choices here. I can either let this happen again or stop it now. I do not need to lecture or whine or whimper. I do not need to let it spoil a few hours of my day or night. Life is far too short to give anyone that power over me.

Does that mean I should be a doormat? I don’t think God wants me to complain and I also do not think he wants me to just suffer it without learning something from it.

What can I learn? I already learned that it bothered me very much. Why? Because I went through extra effort and expense and it was not only unappreciated, it was dismissed as not important. So, I will not go through extra effort for that person again. I’ll do what needs to be done, but no more. At least, not for this one. It doesn’t mean I should shirk my obligations, but it does mean I shouldn’t go overboard.

What else did I learn? I learned that resentment bothers me even more than the whole incident did. I fretted and fumed for a while. Grumbled and griped. But that didn’t change anything. It just made me tense and ruined a few hours of my time. Time to just let it roll off my back and into the ground and away from me.

Help me, Dear Lord, to shrug off what should not affect me, and help me to reject resentment.