Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge.
—Leviticus 19:18
Revenge makes about as much sense as biting a dog because the dog bit you.
Holding a grudge hurts no one except the one who nurses it. It doesn’t damage the person we resent, but it knots our stomach, spikes our blood pressure, monopolizes our thoughts, and makes our life miserable.
Both Old and New Testaments warn against harboring these destructive feelings: “Do not say, ‘I’ll do to him as he has done to me; I’ll pay that man back for what he did’” (Prv 24:29). “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing” (1 Pt 3:9).
Every minute we hold a grudge,
we forfeit sixty seconds of happiness.