As a kid growing up, one of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons was The Road Runner. Every week poor Wile. E. Coyote would do his best to catch the fleet-footed desert bird. He would order his A.C.M.E. products that were guaranteed to give him the upper hand, but each attempt would end in his trap backfiring, and the poor coyote would find himself either at the bottom of a canyon or burned to a crisp.
Bad attitudes have a way of backfiring as well. When we carry a grudge, spread gossip, or seek revenge, the person we will inevitably hurt is ourselves. The Message puts it this way:
Malice backfires; spite boomerangs. (Proverbs 26:27)
The next time you are tempted to cut someone down, either face-to-face or behind their back, or get even over a wrong you've endured, remember that poor old coyote with his rocket jet pack strapped on his back, a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, thinking he had the perfect plan to capture his dinner... only to fly himself into the side of a mountain. That's the same thing malice will do to us.
The Road Runner is indeed a real good cartoon. I still enjoy watching it. Now, on a more serious note, our desire to get even with the ones who did us wrong will first of all affect us, our inner peace will go away. On the other hand, I am also sure that God will not be pleased with the attitude of our hearts and with our desire to do justice to ourselves and this will harm our relationship with God. So, best thing to do: let God bring justice to us!
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