Grudges Lead To Gridlock
Grudges Lead To Gridlock | December 18th
According to the City of New York website, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has identified nineteen Gridlock Alert Days during the United Nations General Assembly and throughout the holiday season, when heavy traffic is expected in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. Nine of these days occur in December, with the last one of 2025 being today.
On Gridlock Alert Days, the city encourages everyone to consider walking, biking, or using public transit for trips in and out of Manhattan. Whether you live in a major city or not, we can all relate to the frustrating feeling of being stuck in heavy traffic. However, gridlock isn't caused solely by the high volume of vehicles on the road. It's important to recognize that holding onto grudges can also lead to a standstill in your life. As God instructs us, we should let go of our grievances and strive to love others. Leviticus 19:18, "Don't seek vengeance. Don't bear a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself..."
Why does God tell us to let it go? Shouldn't we have the right to remain mad and even, if we want, cut someone off? To some extent, yes, because we have free will and can do as we please, but that doesn't make it right, and the ramifications can surely backfire on us. Notice, when we choose to hold onto our grudges, we run the risk of bringing the Spirit's work in our lives to a screeching halt.
First Thessalonians 5:19 says, "Do not quench the Spirit." See, as a believer in Christ, you have been blessed with God's unmerited mercy and grace. Therefore, holding on to offenses over politics or other petty arguments is ridiculous and will jam up the flow of God's Spirit in your life, because we have been taught to forgive as Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:30-32).
Another concern is that grudges can potentially cause you to forfeit additional forgiveness from God. Matthew 6:14-15 says, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Remember, some offenses are serious and take time to resolve, but most of our people problems can be addressed quickly. Therefore, seek God and let go of your grudges to avoid getting stuck!
On Gridlock Alert Days, the city encourages everyone to consider walking, biking, or using public transit for trips in and out of Manhattan. Whether you live in a major city or not, we can all relate to the frustrating feeling of being stuck in heavy traffic. However, gridlock isn't caused solely by the high volume of vehicles on the road. It's important to recognize that holding onto grudges can also lead to a standstill in your life. As God instructs us, we should let go of our grievances and strive to love others. Leviticus 19:18, "Don't seek vengeance. Don't bear a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself..."
Why does God tell us to let it go? Shouldn't we have the right to remain mad and even, if we want, cut someone off? To some extent, yes, because we have free will and can do as we please, but that doesn't make it right, and the ramifications can surely backfire on us. Notice, when we choose to hold onto our grudges, we run the risk of bringing the Spirit's work in our lives to a screeching halt.
First Thessalonians 5:19 says, "Do not quench the Spirit." See, as a believer in Christ, you have been blessed with God's unmerited mercy and grace. Therefore, holding on to offenses over politics or other petty arguments is ridiculous and will jam up the flow of God's Spirit in your life, because we have been taught to forgive as Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:30-32).
Another concern is that grudges can potentially cause you to forfeit additional forgiveness from God. Matthew 6:14-15 says, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Remember, some offenses are serious and take time to resolve, but most of our people problems can be addressed quickly. Therefore, seek God and let go of your grudges to avoid getting stuck!
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