He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. Proverbs 10:18

I think this verse speaks to us all at times. Who among us hasn’t played the game of flattering the very person we detest? Also, who among us hasn’t slandered someone else, sometimes so that we look good or that the other person looks bad? In the end, though, who really wins? Perhaps we need, then, to examine our motives. Why do we detest the person? Why the animosity? Was there a wrong committed? Is there unforgiveness?

I am learning, and it hasn’t been easy, that the little things accumulated over a period of time are much more detrimental than the one time large incident. Are you keeping short accounts with others? Are you dealing with the hurts of today and yesterday (and not 10 years ago). Those hurts from long ago do creep up on us and we have to deal with them, but it’s often to keep the pain to a minimum and as close to the event as possible.