"If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty give him water to drink; For in doing so you will heap coals of fire upon his head. And the Lord will reward you." - Proverbs 25:21,22 AMP
Now you may think the only way to get satisfaction is to give them a taste of their own medicine, to make them suffer just like you did.
But there is a better way to get revenge, one that doesn't cause any hurt, pain, or intentionally emotional distress.
The best way to explain this is to recall those times as kids when we injured ourselves. We got hurt. Fell down, skinned our knees. We felt burning, stinging pain...and wanted to get rid of it like yesterday.
But as much as we wanted to, we couldn't speed things up. We had to let the healing process run its course, no matter how long it took.
Over time a scab developed while the skin underneath healed and grew stronger. When the scab fell off there may have been a scar left over where the wound once was, but there was no more pain, and our knee felt good as new.
Just as our bodies get hurt, our hearts and minds do, too. But there is a difference.
When our bodies are injured, healing automatically begins without our input. But when we are wounded inwardly we have a choice as to how the healing takes place...or if it takes place at all.
We can decide to get bitter...or better. What's the difference, you ask? It all depends on where we place our focus.
When we get bitter all we think about is how the other person did us wrong. We willingly play the part of the victim who was hurt unfairly, whether or not it is justified.
It's true that life isn't always fair, no doubt. But it's also true that we get to choose how we respond to what happens to us, for better or for worse.
By choosing to get better we don't look outwardly, but inwardly. We focus on ourselves. Even when things happen to us that are as unexpected as they are unfair, we look at ourselves and decide how we'll respond in the midst of a tough situation.
But by getting better we become responsible for our happiness. We get involved in the process of creating our value. We aren't quick to blame others for our misery. For life to be worth living, we must do something to make it happen, not rely on someone else to do it for us.
We realize we have no time to carry grudges. Bitterness is a luxury we can't afford. We don't play victim, we don't say woe is me, and we don't sing, "...nobody knows the trouble I seen," because we understand that everyone faces hard times and challenges. Life isn't all about us, it's about all of us.
Taking an active role in getting better helps us let go of the idea that others exist to make us happy. We don't talk about what others "made" us do. We talk instead about what we choose to do.
Best of all, we know we have the power to make whatever changes are necessary. We literally take back the power over our lives that we used to give away to others without knowing it.
As we take time to grow beyond the hurt and the pain, we become better. The process might take a minute, but we get to discover a level of maturity we never would have reached if we let hurt and anger get the best of us.
We can reach levels of satisfaction in life that do not require us to sacrifice our honesty, integrity, or self respect. We can look in the mirror and like what we see because we didn't make someone else suffer pain or distress...and we'll sleep better at night with a clear conscience, the softest of all pillows.
Just imagine what could happen if we all did this. We would learn once and for all that not only is this is possible, but we would also find out that Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra himself was right when he said:
"The best revenge is massive success..."
That's all for now, gotta run. Until next time, remember...
Keep it simple... See ya!
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