Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing” (1 Peter 3:9, NLT).

     In their book The Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath describe an experiment in which participants underwent three painful trials. In the first, they submerged a hand for sixty seconds in a bucket filled with frigid, 57-degree water.

Now when John heard in prison about the things the Christ was doing, he sent word by his disciples to Jesus, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus responded, “Go, report to John what you hear and see. Those who were blind are able to see. Those who were crippled are walking. People with skin diseases are cleansed. Those who were deaf now hear. Those who were dead are raised up. The poor have good news proclaimed to them. Happy are those who don’t stumble and fall because of me” (Matthew 11:2-6, CEB).

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”  (Colossians 3:13, NIV).

              Malachy McCourt once said, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Sadly, people who harbor grudges fail to recognize how much stress they bring upon themselves. The fact is that grudges punish the grudge bearer far more than the one who deserves the punishment.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. ⁹ We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going” 1 Corinthians 4:8-9, TLB).

              I remember my first yo-yo. It was a vintage red Duncan Butterfly. I would spend hours practicing with my friends. I wasn’t very good but I did learn a few tricks, such as Rock the Cradle, Walk the Dog, and Around the World.

“Don’t long for “the good old days,” for you don’t know whether they were any better than these!” (Ecclesiastes 7:10, TLB).

            Several years ago, I had a conversation with an elderly member of my congregation. I asked, “Do  you miss the good, old days? I’m talking days without the hustle and hurry of life. Days when neighbors knew and cared about one another. Days when life was simpler.”

“Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you”  (Matthew 5:42, CEB).

One of Aesop’s fables tells of a boy who was bathing in a river:

  A boy bathing in a river was in danger                 of being drowned. He

called out to a passing traveler for help,             but instead of holding

out a helping hand, the man stood by unconcernedly, and scolded

the boy for his imprudence. “Oh, sir!”                    cried the youth, “pray

help me now and scold me afterwards.”