Little Resentments

Why Are Some People So Mean, Rude, And Disrespectful To Others? The following
story shows how people treat others is a direct reflection of how they feel about
themselves. We all have separate realities and belief systems.
This story tells of a merchant in a small town who had identical twin sons. The boys
worked for their father in the department store he owned and learned from him how to
successfully run the business. When the father died, they took over mutual
responsibility for running the store.
Everything went well until the day a dollar bill disappeared. One of the brothers had left
the bill on the cash register and walked outside with a customer. When he returned,
the money was gone.
He asked his brother, “Did you see that dollar bill on the cash register?” His brother
replied that he had not. But the young man kept probing and questioning. He would
not let it alone. “Dollar bills just don’t get up and walk away! Surely you must have seen
it!”
There was subtle accusation in his voice. Tempers began to rise. Resentment set in.
Before long, a deep and bitter chasm divided the young men. They refused to speak
without resentment to one another. They finally decided they could no longer work
together. A dividing wall was built down the center of the store. For twenty years
hostility and bitterness grew, spreading to their families and into the community.
Then one day a man, driving an automobile licensed in another state, stopped and
parked in front of the store. He walked in and asked the clerk (one of the brothers) on
duty, “How long have you been working here?” The clerk replied that he’d been
working in the store all of his life.
The customer said, “I must share something with you. Twenty years ago I was “riding
the rails” and arrived into your town in a boxcar. I hadn’t eaten for three days. I came
into your store from the back door and saw a dollar bill on the cash register. I put it in
my pocket and walked out. All these years I haven’t been able to forget that. I know it
wasn’t much money, but I had to come back and ask your forgiveness.”
The stranger was amazed to see tears well up in the eyes of the middle-aged man.
“Would you please go next door and tell that same story to the man in that store?” he
asked.
Then the man was even more amazed to see two middle-aged men, who looked very
much alike, embracing each other and weeping together in the front of the stores. After
twenty years, the brokenness was mended. The wall of resentment that divided them
came down.
It is so often the little things that finally divide people – words spoken in haste;
criticisms; accusations; resentments. And once the relationship is shattered
and divided, they may never come together again.
The solution, of course, is to let it go. There is really nothing particularly profound about
learning to let go of little resentments. But for fulfilling and lasting relationships, letting
them go is a must. Refuse to carry around bitterness and you may be surprised at how
much energy you have left for building bonds with those you love.
Rudeness is “a deliberate lack of consideration for others.” Inferred in that definition is
that we really know better, but we choose to be rude. We decide, “I could care less
about you. I’m only thinking of myself. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, what
anyone else wants, I’m going to do what I’m going to do.”
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of
evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just
as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is
not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice
but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is
always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7