Resentment and Other Poisons

Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple. (Job 5:1-2 ESV). Do you remember the reality show The Apprentice? You may be familiar with this program. It is the “reality” show that places young executives in competition with one another for a job with Donald Trump. At the end of each assignment they are evaluated and one person is released from the competition with Trump saying to them, “You’re fired.” I watched one episode when a very talented young man gave up his immunity from elimination and was fired! I thought that was a serious mistake on Trump’s part. However, after watching that show, I was reminded of a couple of quotes. The first is from Augustine: "Resentment is like taking poison and hoping the other person dies." This is at the heart of our reading this morning. There are other emotions that eat away at our. Jealousy, resentment, anger, and discouragement are a few others. And though we know they are poisons to our joy, it is sure hard to eliminate them out of our daily lives. How do you replace negativities with life enhancing positives? The answer to that question brings me to the second quote from Goethe: "Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time." In America it seems we are conditioned on abundance to the point of gluttony. And many of us don't learn to take care of our resources very well. On one hand taking care to the extreme is seen as obsessive. On the other hand, being free with one's resources can be seen as generosity. The happy medium of using our resources wisely in the service of our values and goals is a difficult line to walk. I believe the key to this balance is found in removing these negatives from our practice. Those deep-seated emotions can easily arise from an imbalance of stewarding our resources. Our relationships. Our talents. Our personal growth. Our connection to nature...and community...and our spiritual guide. Stewardship. An old fashioned sounding term that we're finding in today's business world just might be pretty smart after all. At the heart of stewardship is a simple concept. Keep it simple. Keep it true to your values. Reaching for the brass ring leads to complications. "Selling out" to get ahead leads to challenges beyond our grasp, our decision-making skills, our knowledge, and our network of caring community. But not reaching can be just as bad. Remember the lesson of the Parable of the Talents. Hope is opposite of that poison called resentment. Stewardship is taking care of our resources with wisdom. Just like in nature, fast growth is usually a sign of an unhealthy system. Slow steady growth that is woven into the ecosystem is what sustains life. May God bless us with growing wisdom to invest our love and caring, our minutes and days our talents and money in ways that reflect God's wonderful grace.