Well, pdudgeon, you are incorrect. If my memory serves me correctly, I seem to recall you mentioning to me that you had ancestors who came on the Mayflower. If that is true, then I better understand why this discussion might upset you. You are entitled to think what you like, but you are incorrect in your assessment of me and my OP.
there are two things that you are missing in all of this.
The first thing is called conflict resolution.
the only way to resolve conflict of any kind is to make a list of the people directly involved in the conflict.
then draw a box around those names.
on the outside of the box write the names of other living people who can either offer counseling, or offer a solution directly to the problem.
the people on this piece of paper are the only ones who should be involved in the resolution of this conflict.
the second thing to learn is that anyone else outside that box that feels affected by the original conflict,
can be subject to a temptation called righteous anger.
Righteous anger is a feeling of indignation on the part of those who were wronged, and a driving need to seek either
restitution or else revenge on their behalf.
the problem is that there is only one being--Jesus Christ--with a just claim to be included in that box
containing the list of the people involved in the conflict.
The good part is that with Jesus in the solution we are assured of a just solution to the conflict because
Jesus not only knows exactly what happened, He also knows the hearts and the motivations of all the people
involved.
And because of those things, His judgement will be right, fair, and appropriate.
in other words we can safely leave all that judgement and righteous anger behind us
and lead our own lives instead of trying to live all the other lives that went before us,
and over which we have no control.
having no control only adds to the frustration and anger; it does nothing to solve the problem.
in letting such feelings into our life we also add a sense of false guilt that we weren't there to help,
or to prevent the problem in the first place.
And all those feelings that we take on we were never ment to carry.
That's why Jesus offers us the yoke that He has crafted for us, and offers His own help as well
in the wearing of that yoke.
He says that His yoke is light and it is, compared to the burdens that we have put on ourselves due to a false sense of guilt,
assumed anger, and frustration over our inability to control events that werent ours to control in the first place.
So the place to start is by drawing that box around all your problems. and then add Jesus to that box.
