Grudges at Work - What Our Lord Has to Say About Them
If you hold grudges at work, you need to listen to what Our Lord has to say about this. One place you can look is the Gospel of Matthew. This passage explains what the Fifth Commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," really means. Let's see if we can apply Our Lord's words to grudges at work.
First of all, you probably know you shouldn't hold grudges. But you may also know people who make this - to put it mildly - challenging. There's that boss who____and that co-worker who___. (You can fill in the blanks yourself.) While I can't say I've held that many grudges during my work life, I have met a few people whose actions have caused problems for me and others.
For example, while I never really had a boss against whom I held a grudge (despite some of them being obnoxious and overbearing), there was this guy who headed another department that caused me no end of heartache when I was trying to bring in some new business to a large company at which I worked. We needed his cooperation because his department would service the business. It wouldn't have been so bad had he put up roadblocks. But instead, he appeared to agree to us getting the business, then at the last minute refused to accept it, claiming it wasn't good business for the company. When I pointed out that he had agreed with our pursuing of the business and that I had kept him informed of every aspect of the deal throughout our efforts, he pretty much denied that he had encouraged our efforts. (This was in the days before I learned to clearly document my efforts in such situations.)
So while I never did go out of my way to do harm to this guy, I always held a grudge and occasionally made some uncharitable remarks about him, fool that he was. Of course, when I read Our Lord's words I realize that, even though what this guy did was wrong, it doesn't justify my grudge.
So what are we left with if we can't hold a grudge against a guy like this? Well, it might be something like what we're left with if we hold family grudges (which from my experience are, sadly more common). We're left with charity.
It doesn't matter why this guy behaved as he did. It doesn't matter why your brother, sister, cousin, or aunt did whatever they did when you began holding a grudge. Charity must trump grudges. If your not sure about this, just remember that Our Lord's words throughout the Gospels will culminate in the greatest act of Charity: His death on the Cross.
Or think of it this way: Our Lord walked his talk. That's why reading His words - His talk - in Scripture is so important for us Catholics. We'd be wise to listen to that talk and to walk as He did.
Which of course, should encourage us, no matter how much time and energy we need to devote to our work, to read Scripture every day, right?
First of all, you probably know you shouldn't hold grudges. But you may also know people who make this - to put it mildly - challenging. There's that boss who____and that co-worker who___. (You can fill in the blanks yourself.) While I can't say I've held that many grudges during my work life, I have met a few people whose actions have caused problems for me and others.
For example, while I never really had a boss against whom I held a grudge (despite some of them being obnoxious and overbearing), there was this guy who headed another department that caused me no end of heartache when I was trying to bring in some new business to a large company at which I worked. We needed his cooperation because his department would service the business. It wouldn't have been so bad had he put up roadblocks. But instead, he appeared to agree to us getting the business, then at the last minute refused to accept it, claiming it wasn't good business for the company. When I pointed out that he had agreed with our pursuing of the business and that I had kept him informed of every aspect of the deal throughout our efforts, he pretty much denied that he had encouraged our efforts. (This was in the days before I learned to clearly document my efforts in such situations.)
So while I never did go out of my way to do harm to this guy, I always held a grudge and occasionally made some uncharitable remarks about him, fool that he was. Of course, when I read Our Lord's words I realize that, even though what this guy did was wrong, it doesn't justify my grudge.
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, "You fool!" shall be liable to the hell of fire. (Mat 5:21-22)Ouch! The guy might have been a fool, but if I'm the one liable to the hell of fire for calling him that, who's the real fool?
So what are we left with if we can't hold a grudge against a guy like this? Well, it might be something like what we're left with if we hold family grudges (which from my experience are, sadly more common). We're left with charity.
It doesn't matter why this guy behaved as he did. It doesn't matter why your brother, sister, cousin, or aunt did whatever they did when you began holding a grudge. Charity must trump grudges. If your not sure about this, just remember that Our Lord's words throughout the Gospels will culminate in the greatest act of Charity: His death on the Cross.
Or think of it this way: Our Lord walked his talk. That's why reading His words - His talk - in Scripture is so important for us Catholics. We'd be wise to listen to that talk and to walk as He did.
Which of course, should encourage us, no matter how much time and energy we need to devote to our work, to read Scripture every day, right?
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