3 minute read
Like Water Off a Duck’s Back
from July 2021
Gò0dNews for Everyone
Like Water Off a Duck’s Back
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by Beth Penny
How many of you have a “list?” Do not pretend you do not know what “list” I am referring to. Everyone has one. A list of wrongs...grudges. It depends on how old you are, but those could be grudges you have held onto for more than thirty years. We may not remember what we ate for supper the night before or what errand we are supposed to do after work, but we remember who pushed us down on the playground in 2nd grade, who made fun of the Hello Kitty trapper keeper we so painstakingly chose
when shopping for school supplies, and who laughed at the hand-me-down blue jeans we wore in high school. We all have that mental list of those who we perceive as wronging us. But why? Why hold onto the grudge? In the big picture of life, does it really matter?
A wise friend reminded me of a perfect analogy for resentment. She said, “Holding a grudge is like drinking poison every day and hoping that it will eventually hurt someone else.” Holding a grudge is like cancer for your soul. It is the bad cell that begins to grow and eventually takes over your entire body. There is enough negative in the world without you actively creating a dark spot on your soul. In reality, who is that resentment hurting? Not the person that committed the “perceived” wrong. I say “perceived” because there are times when the other person does not even know they have wronged someone.
What do we do to prevent resentment (either real or perceived) from taking over our lives? The idiom “water off a duck’s back” is the perfect solution. In God’s perfect way of creating nature, duck feathers are coated with a special oil that repels water, like a new car with a great wax job. Water just rolls off when they are paddling around and diving for fish. Let those resentments roll off you in much the same way. Paul told the church at Ephesus the same thing: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). If you are not careful, bitterness can be a cancer that can overtake your soul. When we spend more time counting wrong than spreading good, our souls become stained, and it is much harder to overcome. Paul also had the remedy for a darkened soul when he addressed the Romans: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-21).
Take that imaginary list, ball it up, and burn it or toss it in the garbage. God does not keep a list of our wrongs. Why are we wasting our time maintaining our own lists?
About The Author Beth Penny has taught English at Model High School since 1997. There she is also the Yearbook adviser and the Special Education Department Chair. She and her husband, Chad, have four children.
