Taking the high road

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Published on Friday, May 25, 2018

By Neil Strohschein

Neepawa Banner & Press

Murphy’s Law has never been debated in Canada’s House of Commons, Manitoba’s Legislative Assembly or any local municipal council. It has never been passed into law. You will not find it in any law book. But Murphy’s Law has had an impact on all of us.

Murphy’s Law, for those who may not know, goes like this: “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.” You may have heard it expressed differently, but the point is the same—our best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. We experience hardships, setbacks, disappointment and discouragement. They are part of life. We may not be able to avoid them, but we can control how we react to them; and here we have three options.

Option One is to suppress the bitterness and anger that we feel when things go wrong. But that is never a good option. Bitterness and anger don’t go away. The longer we keep them bottled up inside of us, the greater the danger that one day what’s inside will come out in angry words and attitudes that will defile us, damage our relationships and destroy our credibility and integrity.

Option Two is best described in the phrase: “Don’t get back—get even.” We identify those we feel are responsible for our problems and then do all we can to either discredit or destroy them. In extreme cases, those taking this option may take the lives of several innocent people before ending their own lives to avoid prosecution, punishment and justice for the victims’ families.

Option Three is to take the high road; to respond to discouragement and disappointment in ways that reflect our conviction that God is with us and that He has a perfect plan for our lives.

This option begins with a conscious decision to forgive those who have wronged us. To forgive is to “release them from obligation to repay us for offenses (real or perceived) of which they may or may not be guilty.” As part of our decision to forgive, we also let go of any anger or bitterness to which we may be clinging. Forgiveness leaves no room for any form or anger or bitterness.

Then, we choose to interpret negative events in a positive way. For example, losing one job may be God’s way of telling you that he wants you somewhere else. The same can apply to a broken relationship, a persistent illness, a financial setback or a challenging family situation. Any one or more of these events can be God’s way of pointing us in a new direction—guiding us on the path he wants us to follow so that we can complete the work he has put us here to do.

Following this option is never easy. We must give up any rights we have to exact revenge or get even with the ones who we feel have offended us. We must release all anger and bitterness. We must deliberately choose to treat those who have hurt us with dignity and respect—treating them as though the offense never happened. We must choose to forgive—forget—and move on.

Taking the high road will be a huge test of faith. But thanks to his amazing grace, God will give us will give us the faith we need to accept hardships when they come, to see the good that can come out of them, to let them point us in the way God wants us to go and to trust Him to help us survive and thrive; no matter how difficult life may be.