[Just before being released from prison...] As I stand before the door to my freedom, I realize that if I do not leave my pain, anger, and bitterness behind me, I will still be in prison.
01879 – Released from Prison?
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01797 – Not Worth Losing Yourself
The most important lesson I've learned over this past year is don't let anyone make you cruel. No matter how badly you want to give the world a taste of its own bitter medicine, it's never worth losing yourself.
01545 – Things Could be Worse
Should you ever find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, smallness, or insecurities, remember: Things could be worse. You could be them.
00839 – A Mixed Song that We Sing to God
We encounter the sweet and the bitter; together they make up a mixed song that we sing to God.
00792 – We All Need to Apologize and Forgive
We all need to apologize, and we all need to forgive, for humanity to have a sustainable future. Otherwise, we are controlled by the past, individually and corporately. History easily devolves into taking sides, bitterness, holding grudges, and the violence that...
00566 – Change vs. Transformation
Change can force a transformation. Spiritual transformation always includes a usually disconcerting reorientation. It can either help people to find a new meaning, or it can force people to close down and turn slowly bitter. The difference is determined precisely by...
00458 – Forgiveness: Freedom to be at Peace
When somebody you’ve wronged forgives you, you’re spared the dull and self-diminishing throb of a guilty conscience. When you forgive somebody who has wronged you, you’re spared the dismal erosion of bitterness and wounded pride. For both parties, forgiveness means...
00237 – How Deeply We Love
If the church is to flourish, we cannot build our religious lives around a gospel of fear, or a gospel of reward for our meanness. The Christian faith is not about being afraid of God. Fear may get us to submit but fear always leads to anger and resentment and...
00132 – Making Good Trouble
Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way.
00126 – The Ethic of Love
At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love. The nonviolent resister would contend that in the struggle for human dignity, the oppressed people of the world must not succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter or indulging in hate campaigns. To...