Pity Parties

While I was doing my devotions the other day. A conversation that I had the previous week with a friend popped into my head. My friend had confronted me to find out why I had made some comments to another friend. I was shocked by the situation, as I had not made any of the comments that I had been accused of. As I sat reading my Bible, my mind kept going back to the situation. How could this woman tells lies about me, I asked myself. Why would she do it? How is she going to benefit from people thinking I said these things? I was wallowing pretty deeply in my self righteous pity party when I realized that I had just read an entire passage in Matthew without really paying any attention to the words on the Page. I gave me head a shake and started over. As I began to read again I felt such shame. While I was having my pity party I had read all about Jesus and the struggle that he had in the garden. I read about Judas and the kiss that gave him away. Wow, I thought, here I am putting my own feelings ahead of getting to know my savior better. My situation was so very petty compared to what Christ was suffering. I know that it is OK to be annoyed and even get angry when someone tells lies about us, is rude, or unkind. In the gospels in mentions several times that Jesus was angered by the the behavior of the pharisees. Sometimes Jesus called the pharisees out about their rotten behavior, and sometimes He shook his head and headed out of town before they could cause Him anymore trouble. I never once read though that Jesus dwelt on the wrong doing. I don't remember the Gospels saying that He let the indignation of the wrongs done against Him to fill his mind and consume Him.
So in my quest for self control I now know that I need to use self control not to eat to much and to make good choices when I need to eat. I need to stay off of the scale because I know that I will get wrapped up in weight loss rather than dealing with the real issue of 'getting fruity', and I need to control my pity party time. when I find myself in a situation that makes me angry or hurt I need to give it to God. Sometimes I will need to deal with the situation, but Most of the time it is best to forgive, forget, and move on. The forgetting and moving on part will take a lot of prayer! I am so glad that God has promised to always be with me.